


Dragon and Phoenix

by orphan_account



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: DBZ, Dragon & Phoenix, F/M, Phoenix - Freeform, Romance, Smutty, dragon - Freeform, goku's sister, piccolo - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-08-19
Updated: 2017-08-23
Packaged: 2017-12-24 00:47:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 24
Words: 92,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/933138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The only female saiyan left is Goku's sister and she has something that everyone seems to need. Her story of escaping Frieza, finding her brother, and falling for the evil Namekian Piccolo.  Rated E for all the smutty things...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is the story of Goku's twin sister, there are several pairings in this but it mainly follows her story. I chose to call her a phoenix because of the Chinese symbolism behind the dragon and phoenix. Dbz is the a very male oriented show and manga, hence the dragon, but this story is following a female side of things, that's why the phoenix is involved. I hope you all enjoy!

Many years ago on the planet Vegeta a child lay peacefully sleeping next to his sister. The child looked like any ordinary sayain child: dark wild hair, even in infancy, and dark eyes. His twin however looked very different; her hair was golden blonde and her eyes greenish blue. These traits were later found to be those of a super saiyan, but she was definitely not a super saiyan. She was unlike any other saiyan at this time in many ways, but mostly because unlike any other saiyan she was not born to fight.

Two priests hovered over the children, one opening the capsule where they slept, "It's hard to believe a phoenix could come from a low class soldier."

"It's hard to believe one could come at all. I haven't seen a phoenix since my youth, but better she come in hard times like this than not at all." The other man said as he picked up the baby girl, "come now Rori, Lord Frieza has claimed you just as he has with our young prince. Remember where you came from. With any hope between the two of you we will have a legendary super saiyan..."

The baby named Rori was taken out of the room by two guards to be taken to Frieza's ship. The second she left the sight of her brother, he began to cry and wail. At first it seemed bearable, but the longer it lasted the two priest became annoyed and returned.

"Looks like this one will grow up to a great warrior." the one priest said as he watched the baby cry.

"He's only Bardock's son, I wouldn't expect much."

"But just listen to how loudly he cries, that's the mark of a great warrior." he picked up the remaining child and held him up, "Don't forget he is the twin of a phoenix. We'll be expecting great things from you, Kakarot."


	2. An Escape Plan

Twenty-one years had passed since the two babies were born and separated. One was unknowingly sent to the earth, just before Frieza had decided to rid himself of the planet Vegeta, while the other remained on his ship with the only other saiyans known to be alive. The three saiyan men, warriors as they were, spent most of their time off the ship, conquering other planets for the man who held them all captive. No one liked it, but no one could do anything about it. Certainly the men could escape and go somewhere in the depth of space where not even Frieza could find them, but it was not in their nature. They would not leave until they were sure they could destroy this man who took everything from them. For now they were just biding their time, becoming stronger with every new planet they conquered.

Rori was unlike her male counterparts, she was strong, strong enough to fight, but never allowed to do so. She could train on the ship, but never ever leave to go fight or conquer. This was something Frieza had been very specific about from the moment she'd been taken from her warm bed as a baby. She was treated like a princess on the ship for reasons she had no idea why. While the men were out fighting wars, she was confined on the ship by Frieza's command. Once a month she would have her visit with Frieza, but other than that, she was constantly followed around by guards.

The door to the training room opened and Rori exited wearing her saiyan armor. Her armor didn't look much different than the male armor, but there was a difference of course, mainly in the regions where men and women differed. As soon as she exited the training room she was met by Zarbon, "You know, that armor isn't very lady-like... You should wear the new dress Frieza got for you."

"I hardly think that would be effective to train in..." she retorted as she headed down the hall, wishing him gone with all her might. It was no use though he was to be her guard for the day. She'd always hated when one of her guards was someone so close to Frieza. She always felt as if she was being judged especially harshly on those days. Of course today of all days Zarbon was the one chosen to guard her. It only made sense Frieza would want Zarbon to watch her when today was the day her brother was coming back from his mission of conquering a new planet. Frieza's large ship had been based on a planet for a few days at this point and Rori never passed up an opportunity to go outside of the ship so she decided to spend her time by the landing dock, waiting for her brother to return from his travels.

"Rori, you know Raditz isn't due back for another hour..." Zarbon stated rolling his eyes.

"I know..." Rori said as she sat by the railing swinging her legs over the edge while pulling her long golden locks free from her loose ponytail, "but I just feel that... if I spent another minute inside I'd go mad. You must understand how trapped I feel cooped up on this ship all the time..."

"Well if I spend another moment out here, I'm going to go mad and you wouldn't want that now would you?" Zarbon said with a sigh before heading in to leave her alone, "You know the rules, dearie, no sneaking away now."

Zarbon disappeared in the ship leaving Rori to watch the sky for her brother to come home. After an hour had come and gone she started to get antsy sitting by the docks as well. Knowing Zarbon would wonder what had been taking so long she headed back in walking down the halls of the ship until she heard Zarbon's voice, "Sir, I understand your motives, but having to touch a monkey like her in such an intimate way, just to prove your dominance over those apes... Is it really worth it?"

"Oh come Zarbon." Frieza's voice came from behind the door with a laugh, "I've been waiting too long for this kind of opportunity. On her twenty-second birthday, she's going to into heat for the first time just like the others would if I hadn't destroyed them all. And despite her lineage, you must admit, Rori is quite attractive... for a stupid monkey. I'm sure she'd be a good fuck at the very least."

Zarbon chuckled, "You realize Vegeta still believes you'll let him take her as a wife. He's not much of a threat, but I can only foresee insubordination after taking his last hope at repopulating their race."

"He's a fool if he ever truly believed I would let him have her." Frieza took a sip of his wine and smiled to his friend, "No need to worry, I have something delicious planned for Vegeta that day too. He's been getting too cocky lately, I want to make sure he knows his place."

"Do tell. I knew you must have been planning something."

"Do you really want to know?" Zarbon chuckled and nodded. " Oh well, I guess I'll have to ruin the surprise for you then... I plan on taking her for the first time in the room with the two way mirrors. You know how those women get when they're in heat, she won't care who's in there with her as long as she's being sated. And I plan on doing just that while the monkey prince has a front row seat for the whole show. His last hope willingly giving herself to the enemy and there will be nothing he can do... but watch. That should break him. I want him to swallow that damn pride of his and know there is no alternative to my will."

The voices began to get muffled as Rori backed away from the door covering her mouth as she gasped so they couldn't hear her. She had always thought she would end up with Vegeta. She hadn't seen Vegeta more than a handful of times, but every time she had, he'd always promised her of their future together. He had always been a comfort when he came back, inspecting her thoroughly to make sure she was being taken care of properly. It made her feel safe in that very unsafe place to know he was looking out for her, but now that she heard the words from Frieza's mouth it made sense that this had been his plan all along. All the previous phoenix from her planet were said to give birth to the strongest warriors ever known and in some cases even super saiyans. He must have been waiting for me to become the right age... she realized with horror.

While she tried to think of ways she could escape her fate, still backing away from the door, her back hit something solid. Two hands came down on her shoulders and she heard the comforting voice of her older brother Raditz, before he turned her around to meet her gaze. She was much shorter than him and, being the good older brother he was, he always knelt down to meet her eye line, "what's wrong Rori, you look upset... and where's your guard today?"

Immediately, Rori had the urge to tell her brother exactly what she'd heard, but her better judgment kept the words from leaving her lips, "I was just... lonely is all. Zarbon went to speak with Frieza. I guess he assumed you'd take me in as soon as you returned..."

"Well good, I'd rather not have to deal with that jerk." he smirked and ruffled her long blonde hair with his palm before standing back up straight, "follow me then, I have something to discuss with you."

Rori followed after her brother obediently, tail swaying after her, until they reached her room.

"In here," he demanded stepping out of the way to let her unlock it, "I'm sure your room is the only one they won't be listening in on."

Rori quickly opened the door while Raditz watched to make sure no one had seen as they sneaked into the room. She sat down on her bed and looked at her brother with a smile, "so, what news do you bring?"

"You remember I told you of your twin brother?" he asked while pacing in front of her.

"Of course... what of him?"

"Vegeta, Nappa, and I are planning to start a rebellion. The saiyans aren't the only ones who Frieza has wronged... With Prince Vegeta leading us, there's no way we'll lose, but we have to play this smart. Vegeta and Nappa are rounding up others and training on the other planets now, but we need more men of our ranks..."

"I can help-"

"Absolutely not. If you die there's no chance of our race ever surviving. For now you'll be sitting this out... I'm leaving next week ... my ship has already been prepared." he stated, still pacing. This was nothing new though, he always left from week to week. So why was he still pacing like this?

"For how long this time, brother?"

"A year... maybe two. I'm going to get our brother, Kakarot, and bring him back. Our chances will be greater if we have another of our kind fighting with us."

"What? You can't leave that long!" she exclaimed suddenly terrified remembering exactly what Frieza had said would become of her. She had little fear knowing her brother would be there to help her, but if he was gone, she knew she had no chance against the tyrant., "take me with you! I want to help, please, there must be something I can do!"

"I know it must be tough, not being able to do anything off the ship like the rest of us, but you are helping us better than anything, by staying put, here. If Frieza found you gone he would send a fleet after us. Don't ask me why, I'm still trying to figure that out, but as long as you are here and safe, he'll stay off of our backs. Just be strong for now and wish us luck."

With that Raditz left Rori's room. More than anything, she wanted to tell him exactly what she'd heard and why she couldn't remain on the ship. However she knew if she told Raditz, it would only cause him and perhaps Vegeta and Nappa to become careless with the execution of their carefully thought out plans. The fact still remained that she could not spend much more time on this ship. The last thing she wanted was to become a tool to attain power for someone like Frieza.

My ship is ready... The thought rang through her mind and she knew what she had to do. As quickly as she could she set out towards the loading dock that was thankfully empty. Rori knew exactly which ship Raditz always took; she'd watched it fly in many many times and quickly hopped in and looked for the start button.

"Welcome Raditz, coordinates set to earth, do you wish to proceed with this route?" the automated voice asked. She grinned and looked out at the empty dock saying her good-byes in her head. "Yes, proceed."

The ship took off with little warning and headed towards the planet her twin brother was said to be on. Before long voices came over the intercom, one being Raditz's voice, "who is on this ship?"

"Sorry brother... I can't explain to you right now why I'm doing this... I hope you'll forgive me, but I have to do this." she answered before turning off the communication device on the ship. It would take a years time to make her way to earth, but being in that ship for a year seemed better than the alternative. Once the ship was out of the vicinity, it put her into a deep sleep, that would last until her destination.

Before Rori was awake enough to realize what was going on, the ship began jerk around and shake into what she could only assume was the impact of landing. The hatch to the ship opened and Rori pulled out a scouter to look for a higher level life form. She stepped out of the ship into the crater it had made in the middle of a forest and began to stretch her legs. As soon as she pressed the button on the scouter, a reading came up, a large one and it was right near her.


	3. First Impressions

It has been five years since Goku had defeated Piccolo at the World's Martial Arts Tournament and Piccolo had used every second of that time training to become strong enough to kill Goku. Whether it was training his body or mind it did not matter as long as he would one day defeat him. Today he happened to be deep in the forest concentrating on focusing his mind. He could easily keep his focus with the sounds of the rushing waters, the chirps of nearby birds, and other animal noises, but one noise pulled him out of his intense meditation. The sound of something crashing into the planet shaking the very earth beneath him was a little too much to ignore.

Piccolo made his way to the source of all the commotion and found a crater with a small ball to be the cause of the impact. The ball was no meteor, but he couldn't say for sure what it was until it opened and out came a girl. She appeared to be a warrior of some sort, based on her clothing. She was wearing black skin tight armor that fit more like a swim suit, hard dark red plates on the outside of each of her thighs, coming off a chest plate that looked much like that of the other saiyans except that it had no shoulder protection and just stopped at the full of her breast. Like her brother Raditz she wore red bands around her left thigh and arm. Luckily for Piccolo she hadn't seemed to notice him watching her as she stood next to her ship stretching her arms over her head as she let out a yawn from being cooped up in the tiny ship for so long. It wasn't until she turned on the device attached to her head that her eyes shot up in his direction.

"330..." she stated as she hovered up out of the crater her ship had created and landed next to him, "that's not too bad..."

"What are you-"

"Your strength... it's not bad..." she stated walking around him, "oh... but... you're not from here... unless the ship took me somewhere else..."

He was baffled that this girl would just walk up to him, Piccolo, the man who had tried to enslave the earth and say his power was not bad. Either she was delusional or hiding her strength well. "You think you're a match?"

"Oh, I know I am. More than you can handle, actually... but before I get into that with you, this is earth isn't it?"

Without a second thought Piccolo charged at her. He wasn't going to wait around while she insulted his strength to answer her silly questions. The impact never came though, and he felt a tap on his back, "Here I am..."

Piccolo turned staring at the girl who had just dodged him. It seemed impossible. "I'm sorry, I think we got off to a bad start... I'm Seirori, Rori for short. You can call me that if you like..." She smiled at him and sighed when he didn't answer, "I'm looking for my brother Kakarot... I'm sure you must know of him seeing as your power level is higher than one's should be on this planet... he'd be about my age... black hair... a tail like this..." Rori let her tail come down from her waist and wiggled it. Piccolo then came to the realization, she was his sister. This was just perfect. Not only could he not defeat Goku, but now here was his enemy's sister that thought of him as nothing more than a play thing.

"Of course, you're that fool's sister..." Piccolo said with a grumble, "I know who you speak of, but I can't help you. I don't know where that idiot's been hiding himself, I haven't sensed his power in a few years now that everything is peaceful."

"I see..." she studied the man before her for a moment and opened her mouth to say something, but her scouter began to beep and she found another high power source, "Well, it was nice meeting you... and don't worry once I find him, I'll come back so we can finish our bout... umm..."

"Piccolo." he said with an annoyed tone, sensing she was looking for his name.

"Right... Piccolo." She replied with a smile, "I'm looking forward to it."

Rori didn't give him any time to answer before she took off in the direction of the strong power level. It was moving too, but it was stronger than Piccolo's so it must have been her brother. Finally she found the source on an island in the middle of the ocean, with a pink house and a few people standing around it. She landed seeing seven sets of eyes on her, but she was scanning them for one thing, a tail. And then she saw it. A tail, but on the smallest of the bunch. The boy was standing behind a man, but his tail was sticking out. Rori walked up to the man and knelt down to the boy, inspecting his tail, "Is he your boy?"

"...well yeah... but who are you? Why does it matter if he's mine...?"

Rori stood up quickly giving him a very upset look, "Kakarot, what happened to your tail?"

"Kaka...what? I don't know who that is... but my tail was removed when I was young..." Goku said looking very confused.

"Oh.. I suppose I should start from the beginning..." she let her tail unwrap from her waist, "I'm your twin sister Rori... do you remember anything?"

The people behind Goku all looked as though they had seen a ghost. The smallest bald one was the first to comment, "Is today a family reunion or something... Geez, Goku first you have a son and now a sister... what's up with not introducing us sooner, if I had a hot sister I would have introduced you..."

"I didn't know I had a sister... I don't ever remember you being around... are you sure? If you are my sister where have you been all this time?"

Rori looked around at the others that were intently listening and waiting for answers. "I'll tell you everything you need to know brother, but I wonder if we could speak in private, some parts are a bit... personal."

Master Roshi and Krillin both tried to stay outside and listen in, but Bulma pulled everyone except for Goku into the house. Rori looked up at the sky, "Where to begin... well I suppose I should start from the beginning. You and I were born on the planet Vegeta. We are saiyans, a type of warrior race. For some time our race has been controlled by Lord Frieza, he's a changeling from another planet and he has been forcing us to destroy life on other planets and then sell them to other races. When you were born you were sent here to destroy all life on planet earth. Even as a baby, you should have been able to do the job. Someone would have came to check up on you sooner, but right after you were sent away the planet was destroyed by a meteor."

"Were you sent to destroy a planet too? Is that how you survived?" Goku asked as he seemed to believe her story.

"If you'll notice I look a bit different from you Kakarot. Most saiyans look like you, a girl born with blonde hair like mine is known to be a phoenix, we are said to conceive and give birth to the greatest warriors the universe has ever known. It is said that one is only born every thousand years. And so, when Lord Frieza heard of my birth he snatched me up and I've been living on his ship since that day. I'm grateful our older brother Raditz had survived as well as Prince Vegeta and his guard Nappa. They're not around much, but they have made sure I've been well taken care of. Our race is very proud and it is hard for any of us to spend much time on that ship with Lord Frieza carefully watching over."

"What I don't understand is, why did you come now? There must be a reason behind it?"

"There is of course... You are definitely not stronger than our brother... or the Prince and Nappa, and no where near Lord Frieza... but still I've come to ask for your protection. You are my twin... and somehow you've managed to stay unnoticed here for so long... I want you to hide me..."

"From what?"

"Lord Frieza..." she paused trying gain her composure and explained to him everything she had heard just before she got into her ship and left. Most of it was hard to manage, but she found Goku's aura to be strangely comforting. She knew if she told him everything he would try to help her. "And so you see, I couldn't stay there another minute... not knowing I would be that monster's pawn. That man is truly evil Kakarot... something has to... oh.. I'm getitng a message..."

The scouter began to blink over her eye. She pressed the button in the ear piece only to find she'd gotten several messages from her older brother Raditz and one saying he would be there a month after she landed to bring both of his younger siblings back with him by force if he had to. She had only wondered how he'd managed to keep her destination from Frieza.

"You look worried..." Goku stated after he too heard the messages.

"I am worried and you should be too... Raditz is much stronger than the both of us put together." she sighed and saw Gohan pop up from the window to look out at them. "Your son Kakarot, train him and yourself... I'm going to train as well. If we want to stand a chance we'll both have to get twice as powerful as we are now."

"It's been a while since I've had to fight anyone that powerful... It's kind of exciting." Goku said with a smile. This worried Rori at first, it was that kind of recklessness that always got her brother in trouble and she'd heard the story of how it was the end of her father, but then again she was being just as reckless now as they were, but what he said next convinced her she'd made the right decision by asking him for help. "Don't worry, this planet has been the only home I've known and I'm not going to let anyone take me from it, even if he is my big brother. And there's no way I'm gonna let him take my sister if she doesn't want to go."

Rori couldn't help but smile and quickly hugged her brother. Raditz had always been a good older brother, but for all his redeeming qualities, she wasn't blind to the ones that weren't so good. He was definitely stubborn and if he said he was going to bring them back he would do so or die trying. Goku had a different presence about him though, Raditz would start something if he didn't get his way, but she just knew Goku would end it. He had listened to her and not even questioned that she was lying or pushed her away because he didnt know her. There was something very good in him that she needed to believe in at a time like this, "Thank you Kaka- I mean... Goku... for believing me... I have to admit I was worried at first that you would send me away."

He just hugged her back and smiled when he let her go, "You're my twin sister right? I'm supposed to help you. Besides, I can tell when people are lying and you're not."

Rori laughed and nodded, "Well still... Thank you..."

"Don't mention it. Now come on, why don't you come in and meet my friends. They're having a party today. We can start training tomorrow after you meet everyone."

"You really want to waste a day? He's really strong" she warned with a smile.

"Not really, but you look like you could use a worry free day." he stated with a laugh leading her into the Kami house.

"You didn't tell me you're psychic too." she laughed.

"One of my many talents." he replied as they walked in. Everyone in the house had of course been watching the two outside, but immediately acted like they were doing something very important when the pair entered. Goku walked up to Gohan picking him up, "Well I guess for starters this is my son, Gohan."

Gohan looked a bit scared when Rori walked up to him, but she saw this and kept her arms behind her back and smiled at him lifting her tail up towards his, "Nice to meet you Gohan." He grinned back and wrapped to tip of his tail around hers as she shook it. Goku then introduced her to the rest of his friends telling her stories of how he met each of them, "and that's it. Guys, this is my sister. Um, wow I feel like a bad brother... you never told me your name."

"Oh, it's Seirori" she said and smiled to everyone, "but umm, my friends call me Rori, well at least they would if I had friends..."

There was silence after she said that and she scratched the back of her head, "Sorry my attempt at a bad joke..."

Bulma just smiled, "well now you have plenty of people to call you that."

She smiled at Bulma but then turned to Goku while heading towards the door, "it was great meeting all of you. I'm glad my brother has had good friends like you. I'm starting to think you were the lucky one getting sent away. I'd love to stay longer, but I think I should go train and I'm sure Goku has a lot to explain to you all."

Rori flew up into the sky and headed in the direction of where her ship had first landed after yelling back to Goku, "I'll come find you in a month's time!"


	4. How to Enthrall a Dragon

After his encounter with the female saiyan it became harder than Piccolo had expected to regain his concentration. Every time he would get close to regaining it, her voice would pop into his head: I'm looking forward to it. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't either, but he'd rather be a liar than face the truth that his curiosity was peaked by some girl. Well not just any girl, Goku's sister. For all he knew she could be stronger than he was, which meant he needed to concentrate and get stronger. Now he had two idiots to beat. He cleared his mind again, but gained little focus from it. It didn't matter that her voice was out of his head, her smile had taken its place. His voice boomed through the forest like thunder as he let out his frustration on the nearest tree, completely disintegrating it.

He breathed heavily for a few moments before he decided to let his curiosity get the better of him and headed in the direction she had flown off in earlier. At the very least he could figure out what she was doing here. It always helped to know your enemy's motivation. It wasn't long before Piccolo found himself above the Kami house. He didn't need to get too close to hear all the little details, after all his ears weren't big for nothing. This matter was greater than he'd initially thought it could be. It was a good thing he'd followed the girl, by the looks of things Goku wasn't taking this new threat too seriously. He never did. It was infuriating. The world would thank Piccolo one day when he had rid it of those saiyans. At least he took the matter seriously and would become stronger rather than wasting precious time on introductions. Once the saiyans were out of the way, including Goku and the girl, the world could thank him by bowing down so he could finally fulfill his father's last wish.

Piccolo chuckled to himself, he might even get lucky and they'd all just wipe each other out. No that's not what he wanted, he wanted Goku for himself. He wanted the pleasure of watching him die by his own hands. When he realized this, a plan started to take form. He waited outside the house for the girl to leave. Goku had walked out to watch her fly off and that's when he made his move.

Goku quickly turned around and glared at him, "I was wondering when you were going to show yourself. Come for another fight Piccolo?"

"I guess I was listening better than you were. There's no way we're going to get strong enough in only a month's time." he stated before he looked into the house seeing the others partying away, "especially not if this is your idea of training. The girl was right, you need to train your kid. I'm going to train as well, harder than I have been, and when that saiyan comes, you'll have my help, but don't think for a second I haven't forgotten about our match."

"I wouldn't expect you to." Goku laughed, still appearing to make light of the situation, "Once we defeat him, I'll be ready for you and you'd better bring everything you've got."

"I'm glad you understand the situation. I'll leave you to your..." Piccolo paused and eyed the party in the house before he smirked, "...training."

Piccolo flew off in the direction he'd come from. That was one down, now one to go. There were very few things he knew about Rori and most of them he'd learned by overhearing her chat with Goku. The one thing that stayed relevant in his mind was from what she said, despite her strength and speed, she'd had little to no actual training. She'd never been in a real fight. This played to his advantage. He was gaining on her, he started to see her coming into focus, but almost ran into her when she suddenly stopped.

"You've been following me?" she asked and turned around, "that enthusiastic to finish our match?"

"You could say that." he said with a smirk as the both descended.

"So how much did you hear?"

"Enough to know you'll need my help too."

Rori folded her arms and walked over as she glared up at him, she was Goku's height, but still she was much shorter than Piccolo making it hard for her to appear intimidating, "And why would you want to do that?"

"For a favor... Your brother and I have a score to settle. I think we could help each other." he started as she unfolded her arms showing she was listening, "If I'm correct, you have no formal fighting training and let's face it, Goku alone is not going to be able to defeat your brother in just a month's time. I'll train you and if need be help deter your older brother."

"And what do you get out of this?"

"When this is all over, Goku and I have agreed to settle our score. I don't need you interfering. Stay out of it and when I kill him, then you can stay on my planet and serve me like everyone else or find another place to hide out."

"Or I could just kill you now." she replied with a wink.

"You could try... you're strong and fast, I'll give you that, but not so much that if you make one stupid move I won't be able to take advantage of it." he held his hand out, "It's your choice. Do we have a deal?"

Rori looked up at him studying his face before she placed her hand in his and shook it. As soon as her hand met his, she felt something strange in the pit of her stomach. She wasn't sure what it was, but for now she pushed it aside to deal with later if it ever came up again. Little did she know he had the same feeling. Piccolo pulled his hand away before he looked up at the sky. The sun had set and the crescent moon was out, now high in the sky. "Good decision. We'll start tomorrow morning at dawn."

Over the next few days, Piccolo had learned more about Rori than he had planned. He had learned that she was used to a higher level of gravity which explained why she was so fast. That most of her time on the ship she had tried to avoid Lord Frieza's guards by spending her time in training rooms. She knew little about any real strategy, but he had plans to fix that. Honestly at this point, he felt she was probably their best chance at fighting off the older saiyan, but then again he hadn't gauged Goku's full strength yet either. It would be interesting to see who would come out stronger, the man trained by his "better half" Kami or the girl trained by the ruthless Piccolo.

Piccolo found that he was gaining strength from training with her as well. She was a quick learner and kept him on his toes whether they were sparring or meditating. Though the girl couldn't seem to keep her concentration, asking him all kinds of silly questions after only minutes of meditation.

"Why do you want to kill Goku?" she asked one day after they had sat in silence under a waterfall, letting the ice cold water run over their heads.

Piccolo grumbled something under his breath she couldn't hear before he finally answered, "He killed my father."

There was silence for a few minutes before she spoke again, her eyes remaining closed as if she was still meditating and not thinking up more silly questions for him, "I'm sorry..."

There was silence again, but Piccolo opened one of his eyes and noticed she was shivering. She must have been asking her questions to keep her mind off the cold. Without even realizing it, he did something for her benefit, trying to keep her mind off the coldness of the water, "He wasn't a good man, but before he died, I was born out of his hatred for mankind. My father filled my being with his plans of revenge on Goku and this planet. Once I get rid of Goku, then the world will know what true pain and suffering is. I will make sure they understand true evil."

"hmmm..." she hummed on her lips, listening to his words, but never said anything. This was the first time he'd ever told anyone anything about himself or his thoughts and all she could say was hmm. He waited, but she still said nothing so he stood and left the waterfall, "That's enough for now. Why don't you go take a break."

He turned around to ask what she was waiting for when she didn't repsond, but found Rori had gone like he'd asked. He almost seemed disappointed, but went over to a tree and began meditating again. He wasn't sure how long he'd remained there, but eventually he felt her presence and opened his eyes to find she was hanging from the tree upside down in front of him. Piccolo looked at her and shook his head, "just what are you doing?"

She flipped down from the tree and landed, sitting before him, "Taking a break like you said." She took a bite of an apple she had found pointedly as if to prove to him she was indeed taking a break, but he was paying no attention to that. Piccolo's eyes followed the trail of juice flowing from the side of her lips fighting the urge to lean over and taste it. She caught his gaze and assumed it was to the apple so she pulled out another one holding it up to his face, "apple?"

"I don't really eat." he replied as she shrugged her shoulders and continued eating her apple. His gaze followed her full pink lips with every bite she took, wondering if she knew she was torturing him by just staring at him with those big teal eyes. Eventually he couldn't take it and exploded, "What are you looking at?!"

"I was just thinking about what you'd said earlier." she replied moving on to her second apple that he'd refused. He regretted that now as her tongue ran along the side of the apple capturing the trail of juice she'd created from biting it. Luckily, she moved to his side, not wanting to anger him by staring at him any longer.

"And just what were you thinking?" he asked when he finally found his voice again.

She laughed a bit and threw the apple core past them watching it disappear into the forest, "how strange it is... you think you're evil, that you can show this world what evil is, but I don't think you truly know evil like you think you do."

"What makes you say that?" it was laughable the way she spoke as if she knew. Who was she to judge him or the likes of what could be deemed evil?

"I know real evil. Someone purely evil..." she thought for a moment back to Frieza, "someone who could kill a whole race of people and not care, enslave them without giving it a second thought, rape and destroy them until any last ounce of humanity is drained from them. Someone who is born of actual evil, is a monster that doesn't discriminate, their one goal is to destroy every last hope in another being. That's not you. You couldn't do something that beastly, whether your father wanted you to or not. You may settle your score with my brother one day, but I just can't imagine you being the kind of heartless person that would want to corrupt every last shred of innocence."

Piccolo let her words sink in. Who was she to judge him? This was all that he was created for, before he knew what he was doing he had her pinned to the ground, "I should just kill you now and rid myself of your foolishness..."

She stared up at him defiantly at first until she saw the look in his eyes, there was a darkness there that she couldn't put her finger on. He moved his finger over her bottom lip and smirked, "or maybe I should rape you first and show you what I am really capable of?"

It was amazing how in such a quick instant her face turned from insubordinate to pure fear. Her voice was barely above a whisper as she shivered beneath him, "you wouldn't..."

It was then that he'd remembered what she had told Goku. He was trying to prove that he had real darkness inside of him, that he was the kind of monster she described, but she knew what real evil was. She lived with it every day since she was born. Seeing the fear in her eyes, feeling her shake beneath him, she could have gotten away if she wanted, but that man had put so much fear into her, that even Piccolo could make her cower in fear at just the mention of taking her innocence.

For a long time, neither of them spoke, his eyes were still hard as he stared down at her, but he realized she was right. He had to wonder how could anyone look at this girl and want to break her so thoroughly. She had been nothing but kind to him and most likely anyone else she'd met. To want to cause her pain, he just couldn't fathom it as he looked into her eyes.

Regaining his composure, Piccolo moved off of her, not able to look at her after how he'd acted, "You're right... I can't"

Rori sat up, holding her wrists where he had pinned them. She wiped a stray tear from her eye and sighed. She knew her reaction was a bit over the top, but ever since she'd heard Frieza's plan for her, and even for Vegeta, some of the braveness she had inside of her had died. Maybe it was because she knew there was nothing she could do, but that's how he'd wanted her to feel, helpless. He'd succeeded in that without even knowing it. She looked to Piccolo and saw him staring off at nothing.

"I think I'm going to go take a walk" she said quickly and left before he could reply.

After walking for quite some time her mind began to wonder. By now she had cooled off from what had happened earlier, but she kept reverting back to when he had her pinned down. She couldn't get it out of her head, not because she was scared anymore, but because she couldn't shake that strange dark look in his eyes. He had stared down at her with something she'd never noticed before. No one had ever looked at her with that kind of intensity. She could feel her skin tingling at just the thought. She pulled her hair out of it's ponytail and began to run her fingers through it, relishing its silkiness between her fingers.

The cool breeze ran across her back causing her hair to flow over her skin making her shiver. The sudden urge overwhelmed her of wanting to feel the breeze over her entire body and her armor began to feel as though it was weighing her down. Before she knew what she was doing she began to strip out of her armor, letting the last piece of the skin tight fabric pool around her ankles. She moved into the water as her hands had seemed to find minds of their own, one running through her hair the other down her chest. Quickly she gained her composure shaking herself out of whatever trance she had been put in, What am I doing...?

Then Frieza's words ran through her head. On her twenty-second birthday, she's going into heat for the first time just like the others would if I hadn't destroyed them all. You know how those women get when they're in heat, she won't care who's in there with her as long as she's being sated.

"But... It's past that time... I shouldn't be now..." she spoke to herself trying to make sense of things, "unless... because I was in hibernation in the ship that didn't count..." Rori quickly counted on her fingers, based on when she landed her birthday should be... tomorrow.

She heard a rustle from the bushes and turned to find Piccolo standing there.


	5. How to Sate a Phoenix

After she had left, Piccolo began fighting with himself, deciding whether to just wait for her to come back or swallow his pride and go apologize. It took him the better part of the evening to actually give in and go after her, but when he did find her he hadn't expected this. He found her standing by a lake, the moonlight making her glow, stopping him in his tracks as she stood running her fingers through her hair, letting out content little sighs.

How he wanted his fingers to be the ones making her sound like that. Before he could tear his eyes away from her she began stripping all the clothing from her body as if they had wronged her in some way and moved into the water. It took all his strength to back up and walk away from her, but in doing so he'd backed right into a bush making a loud rustling. At this point, she was in the water only waist deep, giving him a full view when she turned to him.

"I-I'm sorry" he said quickly averting his eyes, "I just came to apologize for earlier... I didn't think you'd be..."

"Bathing?" she asked and suddenly letting all her previous thoughts vanish. "It's all right. Why don't you come join me?"

Her voice was different than normal, heated even and eyes half lidded as if she was possessed by something animalistic. There was no sense of lingering in her brain at this moment, her instincts had taken over as soon as she had seen him. What her brain had taken too long to figure out, her body had now figured out for her. She wanted him, plain and simple; and when a saiyan woman is in heat, there are little arguments.

"I-uh-" He looked up and found she was now right in front of him taking him by the hand.

"Afraid I'll bite?" she asked with a smirk before leading him to the water, but stopped at the edge to run her fingers over his chest, giving a look of annoyance at his clothing and began to remedy the situation pushing his turban off his head so it fell behind him making a thud on the ground along with the rest of his weighted training armor.

"Doesn't that feel better?" she asked, but found he still was at a loss for words. While Rori had given herself over to her desires, Piccolo was still holding on to the little shred of sense left in him, "Rori, this isn't what you want... you're going into heat..."

"You're right..." she said with a sigh, but continued her advances on him as she began to remove the rest of his clothing, "I want you out of all of this."

"Rori!" He quickly grabbed one of her wrists stopping her in her tracks. Her eyes widened and she backed up, but her hand remained in his grip.

"I'm sorry... I don't know what came over me..." she pulled up part of her armor trying desperately to cover herself. "I'm so sorry... I... my birthday is tomorrow, it must be starting..."

Today she had thrown herself at Piccolo, but she'd been able to stop herself. She suddenly became overwhelmed with panic. Tomorrow, it wouldn't matter who she was with, like Frieza said, as long as she was being sated and there would be no stopping it. Rori knew little about her race, but there were two things she was certain of. First, saiyans mated for life, if she mated with someone she would be bound to them forever or be seen as unfit for any other saiyan. Secondly, if she mated with some earthling, she would forever be shunned anyway because for a female to mate with one of a lower class was already horrible enough, but with someone of as lowly a power level as a human, she couldn't fathom it. Something had to be done.

"Piccolo..." she whispered as he released her hand from his grip, "I'm afraid I might have to ask you for your assistance again."

He looked as though he was going to protest, but she moved her fingers up to his lips, "please just hear me out... if you do I might accept that apology of yours..."

It wasn't that Piccolo didn't want to hear her out, he knew he would whether he agreed or not, but it was the fact the she was still standing before him in practically nothing. He averted his gaze again and nodded, he couldn't watch her if he was going to listen to her proposition, "I'm listening..."

"Tomorrow... whether it's with you or someone else, I won't be able to stop it." she started and reached up turning his face back toward hers, "I know it's a lot to ask, but... when saiyans mate, we mate for life. If I ended up being bound to one of the humans on this planet... well, there's no telling what my brother would do... so I'm asking that you take me as your mate..."

Piccolo stared down at her, feeling her body pressed up against his wasn't helping his decision. He knew he wanted her, but then again, he didn't really understand the saiyan concept of becoming her mate so he couldn't be sure of what he would be getting himself into. It wasn't a hard decision however, with her this close to him he could smell her alluring scent that he hadn't noticed before. He was losing control, the one thing he'd always prided himself on was his control and in seconds she was stripping him of his well trained restraint, "You know... I don't think my kind typically follow that kind of idea..."

"I understand... I know it's asking a lot..." she started,but then he thought of her with someone else. What if she found some human willing? Of course she would, who wouldn't be willing to mate with her? He could just see it now, Rori and that stupid bald friend of Goku's ending up together. He pushed the image from his head and let his arm slide down her waist, her skin still wet from the water. She shivered beneath him and that was all the convincing he needed.

"I'll help you... under a few conditions..." he explained. She saw her opportunity to move in, he was mesmerized by her and she knew it, but that didn't mean he still couldn't get something he wanted out of this too. It was his turn to take advantage of the situation and brushed his lips gentle up her neck to her ear, "if I'm going to be your mate, I expect you treat me as such, even after the matter is settled with your brother. Will you agree to this?"

Her answer was barely more then a moan until he bit her ear lightly, "Yes!"

"Good." he purred in her ear, causing her to begin removing his clothes again thinking she had gotten the green light, but he grabbed her wrists and bound them behind her with one of his hands, while growling into her ear, "I'm not finished."

Rori let out a little groan of displeasure that quickly turned into a whimper as he let go of her wrists so his fingers could travel up the small of her back, his nails caress her skin in the process. His lips left her ear and he began to plant slow lazy kisses along her neck down to her collarbone, "I realize this reaction is because you're in heat, but even before it started, you lack patience..."

"I-ah!" she started but he cut her off by biting the sensitive spot along the top of her shoulder causing her to drop the bit of armor she was still barely clinging to to cover herself.

"I'm going to teach you patience tonight." he whispered to her, pulling his lips away from her neck. His eyes met hers ignoring her pout to his proposition. He quickly swept her up and pinned against the nearest tree with his body. His hands found their way down her sides until they reached her thighs pulling them up around his waist in one smooth motion. Her body felt like it had molded against his and that's when she noticed it, but he wanted her to notice, that's why he'd pinned her there. She felt his hard erection restrained by his pants. Her body squirm underneath his grasp, wanting him more now that he was so close, pressed right up against her increasingly wet sex, but even though she could tell he wanted nothing more than to remove the fabric between there bodies he wouldn't. His grip only tightened on her as his darkened eyes watched her, knowing he finally had the upper hand, "...and if you're good... I'll give you everything you want and then some."

Then, he released her, stepping back to watch his work as she stumbled a bit at first like a baby doe learning how to walk. She may have been stronger than him, but oh did he have her exactly where he wanted her now, "Do you accept the terms?"

"You're trying to torture me..." she protested at first, but he shrugged and started to turn away, "No wait...whatever you want... I'll do it..."

"Hmm..." he stayed, but still did not turn to her.

"What now?" she asked grabbing his hand to turn him around.

"I need you to prove your loyalty to me..." he turned and looked her over, this was going to be difficult to keep his composure with her looking like that in the moonlight, but if he played his cards right, not only would he have her singing in a few hours, but he'd have a very good ally for his future plans.

"How am I supposed to do that?" she asked her lower lip protruding again.

"Well have to get rid of everything that binds you to your old life..." he said and looked down at her pile of clothes on the ground before shooting a ki-beam disintegrating them.

"Hey! What am I supposed to wear now?" she asked her eyes watching a few specs of the fabric still smoldering.

"I'm sure we'll find you something... now for your loyalty you'll be rewarded..." he stated and moved in pulling her close, he met her lips with a slow but demanding kiss, his tongue darted past her lips entangling itself with hers and she suddenly had forgotten what she was protesting. Her arms rested around his shoulders, one of her hands then slid down his chest and she was finally able to remove his clothing. Her hands followed his clothes trailing down his chest feeling every inch that she had tried so desperately to get at moments ago, but he stopped her at his waist pulling away from their kiss, "not yet. Patience... Now about that tail..."

Her eyes widened, "what about my tail?"

"It has to go." he explained. Rori quickly shook her head, but she couldn't deny him. "This will be your true test of loyalty. If you do this I know you will be bound to me... will you agree to it?"

Rori bit her lower lip, her eyes falling to her tail and then back up to him. Well, Goku was doing okay without his tail, right? She nodded before she changed her mind, "but I need you to promise me something..."

Piccolo stood silently waiting to hear what she could possibly want now.

"I want you to mark me as yours then..."

"...to what...?"

"If you won't let me keep my tail, how can I be sure after we've... how can I be sure you won't be done with me... You're making me bind myself to you and prove my loyalty by removing my tail... so I want you to mark me so we're bound to each other..."

Piccolo smirked and realized she was learning, slowly, but she was learning. "All right... how do I do it?"

"Well... when we're... you have to bite me... here..." she pointed to the back of her neck right at the base, "but it will have to be hard enough to puncture..."

"I think I can manage that..." he stated and closed in on her again, his hand moved to her tail, "Now... I want you to tell me when to do it. I'll let you keep it as long as you can last without me. I'm not going to give you what you want until your ready to say goodbye to your old life..."

Before Rori could even answer Piccolo had her laid out beneath him, one hand had taken his gi and tied her wrist together with it to make sure she couldn't gain any pleasure of her own accord and she had to rely completely on him. He wasted no time, his lips made their way to her breasts, but carefully avoided her nipples, planting kisses around them. It was so hard to stay still beneath him. She mewled his name in frustration as he blew on one of her hardened nipples. Yes, he wanted to torture her, she knew it now for sure.

It was obvious, he was not going to get her to beg like that, so his lips explored further down her body pulling one of her legs up over his shoulder as he kissed down her soft inner thigh. He then traced his tongue in a little pattern moving close to her center but never touching it.

"Piccolo..." she whimpered and began to buck her hips wanting him to go where she needed him most, but she was denied again. He slid off his clothes the rest of the way throwing them behind them and she got her first look at him fully unclothed. Rori had never seen a man before like this to compare him with, but she knew she couldn't take it anymore as soon as she felt his long thick member against her inner thigh. "Okay... you can...do it..."

"You want me to?" he asked as he ran his length up her wet center.

"Yes!" she cried out unable to contain herself any longer, but he wasn't about to give in just yet.

"Beg me to..." he commanded taking a firm grip of her tail as he let the head of his length brush against her soft nub causing little spasms in the pit of her stomach.

"Please, I need you. I can't wait any longer... I don't need my tail... I don't need anything but you..."

The shriek that came from her lips when he pulled her tail off was muffled by his lips over hers and quickly turned into a moan as she felt him slide himself inside her slowly, so she could feel how completely he filled her. Piccolo let out a low growl as he felt how tight she was, all of his control left him, he thanked his lucky stars she finally gave in, knowing he couldn't have held out much longer. All train of thought was lost when he entered her velvety inside, he started out slow and deep, keeping her leg over his shoulder, he leaned down putting pressure on her clit as he moved inside her. She was still squirming and bucking beneath him when he realized her hands were still bound and he let them loose. Her arms quickly wrapped around him pulling their bodies closer as she dug her nails into his back, her lips unable to contain her cries of pleasure from finally having what she'd needed. As his pace quickened she felt something inside her begin to flutter and her cries became untamed.

"Not yet..." he commanded and quickly slid himself out to her dismay, leaving her feeling empty and wanting more. He wasn't finished yet, he quickly flipped her over, wrapping an arm around her waist began to kiss up her spine, "you want me to keep my end of the bargain don't you?"

Piccolo thrust inside her again, this time he went deeper and faster from the start and she felt her body tighten beneath him. One of his palms held her hips in place as he pounded her from behind, while the other ran through her long hair moving it off her left shoulder so he could find the spot he was looking for. He kissed and sucked on it softly and let his hand glide down the front of her reaching down past her stomach and began to put pressure on her sensitive nub. That was all she needed to gain her release. As she tightened around him he felt himself coming undone as well with his last few thrusts and he took this moment to mark her, piercing her flesh right where she had directed him to earlier. Rori cried out riding out the waves of her orgasm, now intensified by his bite before she collapsed back into his bare chest.

Neither of them said a word for the longest time after, but they sat there breathing heavily as Piccolo rested his chin on her head. She had to admit she liked the feeling of his arms around her especially after he had just shaken her body to its very core. She looked up at Piccolo stirring him from his thoughts, "Piccolo..."

"Hmm?"

"I'm glad it was you..." she said with a soft smile, knowing no matter what the reasons were, she was glad she chose him as her mate.

"...Me too." he said looking down at her, trying to force his smirk off his face, but it was too hard when his little phoenix was smiling that pretty smile of her at him from being so thoroughly sated.


	6. Can a Dragon Trust a Phoenix?

Before long the month of training was over. During that month, Rori spent every second of her time training, well, not every second...

"Gah-" Piccolo fell over as Rori tackled him from behind, he rolled over on his back so he was facing her, "Will you quit doing that?"

She was now on top of him, straddling him with an innocent look on her face as she teased him, "I was just trying to make sure you were on guard... someone might sneak up on you one day if you're not careful Piccolo."

His hands quickly shot up and grabbed her arms, pinning them to her waist with a grin. This same problem seemed to keep _popping up_ ever since he'd marked her two weeks ago. The two would do a little training, but before they knew what had hit them, they were wrapped up in each other again before they could even realize what was going on. After they would both agree it was time to get down to some real business, but within a few hours they would fall into the same pattern.

"As you can see... I'm more than capable of taking care of myself." he sat up, keeping her pinned while trying to look as menacing as he could, but even he knew he wasn't being very convincing.

"I see... what a shame..." she started and tilted her head up to run her tongue along one of the antennae that hovered over her brow, "Would you like me to leave you to it then?"

Before Rori could wiggle out of his grip she was pulled to him, he released her arms and let his hands run up her back, pulling their bodies tightly together as his lips met hers. That was it, it seemed there would be no more sparring today, well at least not in the traditional sense. Rori moved her arms around neck, her nails grazed his skin causing him to exhale heavily, as she moved her hips slowly against him. She could feel him harden underneath her through his pants. Piccolo pulled back from their kiss leaning his forehead against hers, pausing for a moment, "Do you feel that?"

"How could I not?" she asked with a smirk about to kiss him again, but he stopped her despite her whimpering protest.

"Not that..." he growled and stood up helping her with him, trying to suppress his need.

"I don't understand"

"Concentrate." Piccolo directed. She was still new to sensing energies, but she should have still been able to sense the large one coming towards earth. Then she felt it and not the _it_ she had hoped to feel.

"Raditz...I guess it's been a month already..." she laughed throwing her hands behind her head, "I stopped keeping track..."

"We better get going, Goku will have felt it too." Piccolo shot up into the air following the source of the energy. He wasn't positive of the exact coordinates, but he could find the vicinity the ship would land in and surely Goku and the kid would be there as well. Within a few seconds Rori had caught up with him and flew beside him. He eyed over to her realizing that soon, no matter how close they'd become she could be leaving him. He wanted to trust that she'd make good on her word, but only time would tell. "Don't forget about our agreement now..."

"I wouldn't dream of it." she answered before they both touched down when they found where Goku had been waiting. Rori ran up to her brother and gave him a quick hug. "Have a good month training?"

"Definitely. Was yours productive too?"

Rori tried to keep a straight face, thinking back to how she'd spent her month, "I would say so... I suppose..."

Goku grinned, "well I know Piccolo's was. I'm looking forward to testing that out after we beat this guy."

As usually Piccolo only glared over to Goku. He had to admit he hadn't been training as much as normal, the girl always seemed to get in the way, not that he had been complaining, but at least now he had an ally that was worth something, that was more than Goku could say, the cue-ball wasn't really much of a threat.

Before they had anymore time to ponder that thought a large crash caused debris to fly all around them. The were close to the landing, but they'd all quickly flown up so they wouldnt get hit with the dust. Out of the pod came the tall long haired saiyan, Raditz. All eyes were on him, but the first thing he did was click his scouter, as Rori had informed the men, Radditz, like she, could not detect power levels so he would rely on the machine. This would work to their advantage. Before long Raditz looked up in their direction, yelling out to them, "What kind of greeting is this for your older brother?"

They all descended until they were standing before Raditz. "Kakkarot, I don't blame you, but Rori you should know better. You've never been so rude to your big brother before."

Rori's eyes fell back on the others and she thought about it for a moment before she made her decision, "Guys... Please let me have a moment alone with my brother."

Goku had a questioning look, but quickly agreed, it was Piccolo who seemed to have a problem with this, though she should have foreseen that. "Our agreement..."

"Still stands... I just need to speak with him..." she assured him quickly. She could hardly blame him that he didn't trust her yet, but eventually she would prove to him that she was his now.

The two men flew off a bit to where they could still be seen, and Piccolo could still overhear her.

"Don't think you can just pout your lower lip now and everything will be fine, you've caused quite the problem for me." Raditz scolded.

"I'm not... I know I acted a bit... hastily, but I assure you I had good reason. I'm certain you will understand when you listen to my problem brother."

"Please tell me, tell me Rori! What kind of problem could you only tell me once you've stolen my pod and gone out here to the boonies? I'm dying to know!" he yelled but calmed down when he observed her anxiously fidgeting, "I'm all ears... this had better be good."

"Raditz... I overheard Frieza talking with Zarbon." she started but could see the impatience radiating off of him, "in short... He was planning to rape me in front of Prince Vegeta..."

That had certainly left him at a loss for words. "I know you probably hadn't realized it, but it was nearing my 22nd birthday and I was starting to go into heat... he knew and he was going to use that to his advantage and force Prince Vegeta to watch... I was going to tell you or Vegeta, but... Frieza's just too strong I didn't want anyone to get hurt."

Raditz sighed and pulled his younger sister to him hugging her tightly, "You could have told me... we would have figured something out..."

He ran his hand over her hair, "You're right though... I hadn't even noticed, I was so busy helping Prince Vegeta with his plan... I should have foreseen something like this. You are growing up after all...and... what's this..."

Raditz pulled back part of her hair and found the mark Piccolo had made on her. She quickly backed away hearing the rage in his voice again, "Who did this?!"

"Umm..."

"You didn't!" he yelled as his eyes focused in on something behind her, she turned to notice Goku's son had arrived, he must have followed him. Raditz shot up into the air heading towards the two "how could you mate with a weakling like our brother!"

"Raditz! The kid isn't mine!" she flew up in front of him before he could get anywhere, "it wasn't him. Jeez someone needs to teach you about how long it takes to have a child..."

He grabbed her by the shoulders, not letting her make light of the situation, "then who?! Any weakling from this planet is a disgrace! You might as well have gone with Frieza you little who-"

Thankfully before he could finish that last word he plummeted to the ground letting her go. She turned to find Piccolo next to her. They both descended again and Goku flew over as well after he was sure Gohan was in a safe spot.

"It was me" Piccolo answered Raditz while moving out in front of Rori. Raditz stood checking his scouter again, "lucky shot, but with a measly power level like that I wouldn't count on being lucky again."

He began to brush himself off from being hit to the ground and laughed, "let me make this clear to my younger siblings, why I am here. I AM going to take you both back with me. But as I see it now... you both need to get back into my good graces. Kakarot, you were supposed to have demolished this place which I can see you haven't. I want you to kill one hundred humans by sunset and pile their bodies here. Rori...you have the same task, but you must start with the one who you used to disgrace our name... and if you're a good girl we won't tell Prince Vegeta... I'll just tell him I marked you to spare you from mating with one of these weaklings... but I'm not adamant about lying to our Prince so you'll have to be a good little whore and do as I say"

This time it wasn't just Piccolo who came to her aid, but her brother as well. The three began to fight and she was about to jump in to help when she felt a tug on her boot. It was her nephew. She picked him up curiously, "How did you get over here? I thought your dad set you far away..."

Her attention was drawn to an explosion. Goku was now on the ground and Piccolo looked as though he was about to collapse. Raditz slowly made his way towards her, "I've changed my mind. Rori, you're coming with me... as for the other two and the planet, well I hope you've enjoyed your stay because you won't see any of it again."

Before he could take another step though he fell to his knees. Goku had caught him by the tail! "Quick Piccolo, while he can't move!" Piccolo grinned, "I'm already on it."

He quickly moved his fingers to his forehead, focusing his energy to one point. "Hurry!" Goku called.

"Brother!" Raditz started, "Please let me go. You're not going to let him kill your own brother are you?"

"You were just going to kill us!" Goku shouted, "I'm not letting you go!"

"I'll leave! I'll leave and never come back! I swear it!"

"Goku, no!"

It only took that second of wavering for Raditz to wriggle his tail free and get out of the way of Piccolo's blast. He kicked Goku's limped form over and chuckled, "let that be a lesson to you!"

Raditz made his way towards Piccolo, "I think I should get rid of you first... I wouldn't want you interfering..."

"Raditz!" Rori called pulling his attention away from Piccolo. She stood in front of Goku, sighing, "You're right brother... I'll come back with you quietly... I don't know what I was thinking... lowering myself like that... I doubt Prince Vegeta will ever take me now, but perhaps we can find a way to make it work. I will be a good girl and follow your instructions... let's just leave, please... I can't stand to be here another minute."

Raditz paused and studied her face moving closer to her. Whatever it was he was looking for he must have found because he smirked and pulled her to him. "I knew you would come to your senses... I don't know what you saw in that green bean, but it looks like the haze has cleared."

"Of course..." she said hugging him back. Piccolo stared at the two. He should have known. He'd known all along. He'd never trusted anyone, yet somehow he'd placed what little trust he had in her, but in the back of his mind he'd always known it had been misplaced. Now she was going to leave with her brother and he would miss her despite that.

"Piccolo!" she screamed, "what are you doing over there! Do it now!" He awoke from his thoughts and realized she wasn't hugging Raditz. She was holding him still. She was willing to take the hit for him. He hesitated, there had to be another way. Well, as long as he was still alive he could always use the dragon balls, yes maybe this was the best way. He started charging his attack, mentally smacking himself for ever doubting her. She'd done everything he'd asked of her, of course she was his.

"Hurry! I don't know how much longer I can hold him." she cried as Raditz struggled to get free of her grasp, trying to win her over the same way he had with Goku earlier. Then finally Piccolo unleashed his energy. Soon the bright light cleared, but she felt no harm at all, was that what it was like to die? Quick? No she was still where she was before. She looked around. Raditz was on the ground a large hole through his chest, and next to him, Goku, with a similar scar.

"Goku!" she ran over to him. "What is wrong with you?!"

"There's no sense in both of us dying, I was already weak..."

"If you weren't already in such bad shape I'd kill you myself! What about your son?!"

"It's alright... the dragonballs.. I can be wished back..."

"What...? Piccolo... he's spouting nonsense... I think he's gone already"

"No, I'll explain it to you later..." Piccolo corrected before he reached down and pulled her to her feet. He wasted no time and kissed her deeply, pulling her as close as he could. Sure he could have summoned her back with the dragonballs, but he liked this much better.

"What's that for?" she blinked up at him.

"Proving me wrong..."

"I think you're forgetting something sister!" Raditz interrupted with a gruff cough, "One year from now... Prince Vegeta and Nappa will be here to avenge me. For your sake I hope they just kill you because if they don't Vegeta will have something much worse in store-"

Piccolo cut him stepping on the saiyan's face with his foot. "One year is more than enough time."


	7. Feng Shui

Meanwhile, in the sky Bulma was flying in her plane along with Master Roshi and Krillin. Krillin stood next to her pointing her in the direction of where he felt Goku's energy dissipate. The plane began to descend when Krillin shouted, "Is that Piccolo! Maybe we should just move on."

"No way! Look Goku and his son are down there and so is—" Bulma was at a loss for words as soon as she saw it, "Rori... just kissed Piccolo..."

Krillin rolled his eyes, "You're just trying to get me on board with you landing this thing... nice try!"

"I'm serious!" she said landing the plane, "and you don't get a vote in this."

They all left the plane finding Goku with a big hole in his chest as well as Raditz. Master Roshi walked over toward the older saiyan's body poking it with his foot, "oh he doesn't look so tough. If only I was here I could have prevented this from happening..."

Rori rolled her eyes and found Bulma staring at her. "Umm... Piccolo got him at the last second, but Goku kept him down so he couldn't get away. He's too strong... in a year two men stronger will come. We'll have to train as best we can. Their power is unimaginable."

Krillin nodded, and so did Master Roshi, but Bulma still stared at Rori. "We've decided to train Gohan. He seems to have some hidden power in there... Bulma what are you staring at?"

"Nothing..." she said and shook her head forcing a smile, "...it's no problem with me, but good luck getting his mother to agree."

"Right..." she said before Piccolo chimed in, "we're not asking for permission." Piccolo picked up Gohan who had passed out and turned to Rori, "I'm taking him now to start training. Fill them in and help them get the dragon balls and meet me when you're done."

With that Piccolo left and Rori turned to Krillin, "It appears someone named Kami wants to train you guys, so get your friends together and head up there. This guy must know what we're in for. I'll help Bulma get the dragon balls while everyone's training."

"I guess I'll go round up the guys" Krillin said with a nod before turning to Bulma, "good luck finding the dragon balls, you guys." Krillin flew off just leaving Bulma and Roshi. Bulma smiled at Rori, "I think before we do anything, we'd better get you cleaned up."

"yeah..." Rori smiled as she looked down at her worn clothes. Piccolo had given her some spare clothes since he'd destroyed her past ones, but they were starting to get ragged. Master Roshi started to snicker to himself, "I've got some things at my house she could wear..."

"We're taking you home first, you old pervert." Bulma grumbled and hit him in the back of the head, "I'm sure I have something you can still fight in that'll be more stylish than those rags."

"Thanks Bulma!" Rori said and started towards the Bulma's plane.

Bulma's eye's lit up at just the thought of getting Rori alone so she could ask her about what she'd seen, "No problem. In fact I think I have some stuff in my lab that might work too."

* * *

After they had taken Roshi home, the ride to capsule corp was spent in uncomfortable silence, mostly because Bulma kept trying to figure out how she could ask Rori about what she'd seen without seeming insensitive. Rori now stood in the shower that Bulma had shown her to, letting all the sweat and dirt come off of her under the warm water. When she came out she found Bulma had lain out some new clothes for her and she pulled them over her body and looked at herself in the mirror. She had a skin tight black leotard that seemed to be made with some strange material, the neckline scooped down showing off her full breasts and that met bronze colored side plates and another that went over her stomach.

Rori stuck her head out of the room looking for Bulma, but she was no where to be found. And so instead of staying put, her curiosity got the best of her and she began to wander through the different rooms. Eventually she found one that she couldn't just pass by. It was a room that reminded her of the rooms she used to train in. She walked in and looked at the panel in the center that seemed to have a million buttons. Before touching anything she quickly looked over her shoulder and when she was sure she was alone she started pressing them, until she felt like she was being weighed down by a ton of bricks.

She stepped back and moved her arms out, the gravity of the room felt much stronger than what she was used to and definitely that of planet earth. "Awesome!" she said as she started testing it out with a few strained punches and kicks. Suddenly the gravity went back to normal and she heard Bulma's voice from outside the room, "Having fun in there?"

"Uhhh... yeah... sorry, I couldn't help myself..." Rori said stepping out to find a scouter on Bulma's head. Apparently she had been trying to fix it so she could figure out how to change the language on it.

"I'm leaving this with my dad and then we can get going." she said with a smile and gestured to what Rori was wearing, "I knew that would look good on you. Piccolo's gonna love it."

Immediately Bulma caught herself and put her hands over her mouth, but Rori didn't seem to even notice and turned around trying to look at the back, "You think so?"

"...yeah... and the material is great for fighting in. It's made with a microfiber that should keep you from getting too roughed up." she said watching Rori like she was some puppy trying to catch her tail before she stopped her and turned her to a mirror, "So I really did see you kiss Piccolo huh?"

"What? Oh... well yeah, he's my mate." she stated nonchalantly causing Bulma to almost fall over.

"He... Piccolo... is your... mate..." she started and sighed at how oblivious Rori was acting before grumbling under her breath, "you really are Goku's sister..."

"What?"

"Oh, nothing..." she said before leading Rori back to her plane, "I just didn't think Piccolo... would ever... or could... nevermind..."

* * *

After about three months, Bulma and Rori had gotten all of the dragonballs. Most of the time however was trying to avoid getting the dragonballs that Goku had already collected at his place so they wouldn't have to explain things to Chichi. Luckily she passed out instead of going crazy. Goku's was the last place they had to go, so now Bulma flew Rori to the place her pod had initially crashed and got out with her.

"Before you go training, I have a present for you." Bulma said while reaching into her purse to pull out a pack of capsules and handed them to her.

Rori stared at them having never seen such a thing in her life, "What is it?"

"The first one is house" she said grabbing the capsule and tossing it to the ground presenting her with a 3 domed house, "so you can properly clean up, andddd inside is a gravity training room as well. I know how you liked it."

Before Bulma could say another word, Rori threw her arms around her, "Wow, thanks Bulma!"

Bulma smiled a mischievous smile and looked over at Rori's pod, "Rori... do you mind if I take your pod back with me? I want to see if I can use the technology to make a bigger space pod."

"Sure why not. I'm not using it after all." she started, but before she could finish, Bulma pulled away from the hug and pressed a button, a cord coming from her plane, quickly attaching itself to Rori's pod.

"Oh and before I go, I also put some things in the bedroom top dresser drawer I thought you might like to wear for your... mate..." and with that she flew away.

Rori watched Bulma fly away and then went into the house to looking around. She walked into one of the back rooms finding the bedroom and looked through the doors finding them filled with all kinds of lingerie. "What is all this..."

She sorted through some of it, pulled out a light blue lacey bra corset and panties and started fiddling with them. It took her about 20 minutes to figure out how to put them on correctly.

"Rori?" Just then she heard Piccolo in the other room looking for her. He must have sensed her energy when she had gotten frustrated at the light blue set and blasted it before she settled on the green one which was easier to get on.

"Did you get all the dragon-" Piccolo had started to ask until he saw her walk out in just her lingerie like it was completely acceptable. Thank god Gohan was still just fending for himself and not training with Piccolo yet. "-balls..."

"Yup all done!" she said with a smile and ran up to him throwing her arms around his neck and kissed him, "how have things been going with Gohan?"

"That brat has a lot to learn." he answered and kissed her back, "what... are you wearing...?"

"Oh, Bulma said you might like it" she said turning around for him leaving him speechless whether it was at what she was wearing or at her being oblivious to what she was doing he had no idea, "Do you like it? You'd better it was really hard to get on."

"Umm... yeah..." he started as he pulled one of the straps down her shoulder, "but next time you don't need to bother, it's just going to get destroyed when I take it off you..."

"ohh..." she seemed to come to a realization and smiled leaning up to give him a quick kiss again. Piccolo began pulling her off all the lacy fabric from her as they stumbled through the hallway laughing like a bunch of teenagers and she managed to slide off his clothes, so he could kick his pants off behind him as he lead her backwards down the hall sloppily kissing her the whole way. He wasn't going to say it, but he had missed her. Those three months with out her seemed like torture after they had become so close.

"Oh wait I have an idea" she paused pulling away from him and ran up the stairs. Piccolo followed after her to something he really hadn't expected, it looked like a training room, but they definitely weren't on the track of training a few moments ago.

"What are we doing?" he asked before she put her fingers up to his lips and started to kiss down his neck, and she ran bother her hands down his chest letting her nails run over his skin. One of her hands went further south and ran her hand along his length stroking slowly causing him to let out a low groan. She then put her hand on his shoulder pushing him down to the floor with her and straddled him placing light kisses down his chest before she slide her lips over the tip and her tongue ran down the length of him. Piccolo's hands seemed to take on a mind of their own finding their way to her head, his fingers ran through her hair. With one hand he pulled her head down so she could take all of him into her mouth. He grunted and moved one of his hands from its place tangled in her hair to her chin, lifting it so he could see her face as she worked on him.

Rori slid her lips off of him despite his protest and stood up with a delicious smirk directed towards him while walking over to the panel. She began to press a few buttons and in an instant turned on the gravity, not too high, but high enough that she could feel it weighing her down with a twinge to her muscles. She walked back over to him and he pulled her down so she was straddling him. "What is this?"

"Gravity training room" she answered while positioning herself over Piccolo and slid down onto him slowly, the gravity pulling her down a bit harder. She let out loud moan at the sensation . His talon like claws clamped her hips holding her in place for a minute before he leaned up despite being weighed down and ran his tongue over one over breasts biting her nipple gently. She moaned again her body involuntarily grinding herself against him as his hands began to rock her against his cock. She pulled up almost off him, but stopped while biting her lower lip to stifle a groan as she began to slide down him again, his hips began to meet hers and she could feel herself building up much faster than normally due to how hard the gravity was pulling her down onto him. Rori leaned her head into his shoulder and whimpered into his ear as she came undone, and he came soon after her while her walls fluttered around him bringing him with her. She reached up quickly pressing the button to turn off the excess gravity and collapsed onto of him.

"I think I'm going to like training..." he said with a smirk as she intertwined their fingers giggling she planted a kiss on his neck.


	8. Awakening

It was the day before the two saiyans should be arriving. Kami could feel it. He had told Tien, Yamcha, and Krillin to go home for the day and relax. There was nothing more he could do, but give them one day with their loved ones in case they could not defeat the saiyans. Staring out over a planet that might not be around very long, his thoughts moved to Piccolo. "Mr. Popo... I can feel that I might not survive this..."

"Kami are you sure?"

"Nothing is certain, but I think Piccolo can feel it too. I doubt he'd admit to it, but part of the reason he's training Gohan is so he can leave something of himself on this planet. Something has changed in him. Whether it's because of Rori or Gohan or both... I'm not sure, but I feel him becoming less evil. It's a shame that it had to happen so close to the end." Kami stated staring off the look out with a worried Mr. Popo behind him.

* * *

"That's it kid... go home." Piccolo stated with his usual stoic look after Gohan fell to the ground.

"But I don't understand. Did I do something wrong?" Gohan asked standing up brushing himself off.

"Today was the last day of training. It won't be good if you're all worn out tomorrow when the saiyans arrive. Go home, see your mom, get cleaned up and rest."

Gohan nodded and flew up to leave, but stopped before he got to high in the air, "Thanks Mr. Piccolo!"

With that the young half saiyan flew off. A hint of a smile tugged at Piccolo's lips, but he suppressed it and started for the house Bulma had given to Rori. _I wonder what my little trouble maker is up to..._ he thought as he ran through the woods.

Initially Rori had done most of her training with Piccolo, but as soon as Gohan began to gain his strength the dynamic had shifted. Gohan needed more help than she did, she knew that, but that didn't keep her from missing her mate while he was off training the child. Now she spent most of her time in the gravity training room, upping the gravity a bit more each day. She was doing some pull ups off of a bar when the gravity went back to normal without warning causing her to fall over estimate the pull and fall flat on her butt.

The doors opened and she didn't even need to look to know who it was. Rori leaned back on her arms and tilted her head backwards to find Piccolo in the door way smirking at himself for being so clever, "A little warning next time, hun."

"And miss this view?" he said with a chuckled, helping her up.

"How's Gohan?" she asked as soon as pulled her up, not wanting to do anything too bad to Piccolo in case there was a kid around.

"I sent him home. The saiyans will be here tomorrow some time. The kid's been getting better, honestly he's probably our best hope." he told her as he pulled her to him, "but then again, I haven't seen your progress... Perhaps I should check on that."

Piccolo's hands started to roam her body one hand falling down the small of her back the other moving up her side, but she pulled away, until they were arms length apart linking her fingers with his, "You won't find the answer like that..."

She let go of his hands and then backed up showing she was ready for him if he really did want to test out her skills. Piccolo nodded, but instead of charging her, he split himself into two. Rori had never seen him do this before and let her lower lip protrude, "no fair... I have to fight two of you?"

Both Piccolo's began closing in on her but she just smirked, "...well all right, but if I win I get to take both of you to bed with me tonight..."

The two... well three fought for almost an hour until Piccolo fused back together. They seemed evenly matched, though Rori was certain she had the upper hand. She closed the gap between them wrapping her arms around his neck and nuzzled her nose against his playfully, "hey where'd your friend go?"

"Gone" he said simply picking her up in his arms as he moved down the hall with her, "I don't like to share you."

Rori laughed at him and playfully pinched his nose as he took her to the bath, "not even with yourself?"

"I'm a very jealous man." he answered letting her down and she started running the bath before she turned to undress him. They both helped each other undress between kisses and then sank down into the bath together. Rori had her back against chest and leaned her head back to place a kiss on his chin, "hey.. I've been thinking... you know you've been really good with Gohan."

"We can't keep him... he's your brother's you know..." he joked. Rori rolled over in his arms lightly punching him. "That's not where this is going and you know it!"

It went silent for a few moments, neither were sure whether or not to say anything. Rori began to worry her bottom lip deciding whether to start again, but Piccolo beat her to it, "If we do survive... I wouldn't be opposed to-"

Before he could get another word out Rori pressed her lips against his. Her arms linked around his shoulders as their lips parted and she smiled at him, "you really wouldn't mind?"

Piccolo had been thinking about having a child with Rori the more time he spent with Gohan, but things were messy right now. If the saiyans killed them or just him, he couldn't leave her with a child. Rori was still so unfamiliar with the world, if something happened to him he was worried what might happen to her. Piccolo wasn't one to hope for anything, but now he was putting all his strength into staying alive for her. He looked down at her with a smile and ran his fingers through her hair, "I'd like it if we did."

* * *

It had been almost a year that the two saiyans had been traveling to the remote planet and both were starting to a bit antsy in their tiny pods. One more so than the other, "Vegeta... how much longer...?"

"Open your eyes you buffoon, it's right in front of us." The young prince answered with discontent dripping from his lips.

Within a few moments the two space pods crashed into the center of a city. Unlike Raditz, they didn't have very much privacy upon landing. As the exited their pods there were crowds of people looking down upon them, some in worry others in excitement, but they were making a large crowd nonetheless Nappa and Vegeta both ascended into the air taking the appearance of the people who inhabited the planet, weaklings. "Well Nappa, I suppose I'll let you decide what to do with them for once."

"Thanks Vegeta. This will really put me in a better mood." he smirked as he let his energy release from one of his hands destroying the entire city in one quick blinding light. "If that didn't impress them I don't know what will."

Nappa gave Vegeta a proud look, waiting to be praised for his actions, but he only received a dark stare from his prince. Nappa had not pleased him. "What's the matter Vegeta? It's just one town, we'll still be able to sell the planet no problem."

"And what about the dragon balls you moron?!" he yelled to his partner letting the rage take over him, but he extinguished it in an instant. "You'd better hope that one of them wasn't in that city you just destroyed or our trip here was worthless."

"I-I... didn't think of that. Sorry Vegeta..."

"What's done is done. Let's find our princess and make quick work of this..." he said as he began pushing buttons on the scouter.

"Heh... even as a girl she should have the highest power level on this planet" Nappa laughed at his own joke until he saw Vegeta was not and quickly cut himself off. "Why are there so many power levels over a thousand, this thing must be broken."

"The highest two are in this direction" Vegeta pointed off in the distance and the two began flying towards their targets.


	9. I Watched You Change

"They're coming" Gohan announced to the others. He could feel two large energies coming towards the three of them, but suddenly another appeared. "But wait there's three."

"That can't be..." Rori said with a shake of her head. "There are only two of them..."

Before long Krillin came into sight causing the three of them let out a sigh of relief. "You guys want some help?"

"Krillin!" Gohan yelled, excited that one of his father's friends was there to help.

"Wow, Gohan. You've really grown in a year. You look like you've gotten much stronger."

Gohan laughed at this averting his gaze to his trainer, "Yeah, Mr. Piccolo trained me."

Rori walked over to the two with a smile, "Gohan's really gotten much stronger. It's amazing at such a young age."

"He's just like his dad, huh?" Krillin asked with a smile. Rori smiled and nodded. She walked over to Piccolo, leaving Gohan and Krillin to their own devices and the two began to talk in hushed voices. Krillin eyed Piccolo to make sure he was distracted before he turned back to Gohan, "So how was training with Piccolo? That must have been scary?"

Gohan shook his head. "It wasn't that bad. I learned a lot from him... and I got to know my dad's sister when she wasn't training on her own."

"Well I'll agree that that part seems great, it must have been nice training with her..." Krillin smirked to himself. "Hey, Gohan... when this is over maybe you can help me out a little... I'd like to get to know her... I mean wouldn't it be great if your father's best friend and sister got together?"

"I don't think Mr. Piccolo would like that..."

"Why does-" Krillin looked up to find Rori breaking from a kiss with Piccolo, causing the Namekian's face to turn a shade of red, "...wow... Bulma wasn't joking..."

Piccolo's face suddenly turned serious, "They're here."

Rori backed away from Piccolo before the two other saiyan's came into sight. It had been over a year since she'd seen either of them, but they hadn't changed much, but she was looking at them completely differently now. She was looking at them from the point of view of someone who about to fight them for her life. The two saiyans touched down before the others. Their presence seemed daunting. Nappa was as big as ever, but she knew better than anyone he was stupid. That could work to her advantage. "Looks like they've been waiting for us, Vegeta."

Her eyes shifted to the smaller one, she had only met him a hand full of times, but she knew better than to think lightly of him. Vegeta was the one who would be a problem. He was small but he was their Prince and one didn't become a prince without receiving the best training. She stepped out in front of the rest of her group. It was pointless to try, she knew that, but that didn't stop her from wanting to solve this with words.

"Look our little princess is all grown up... looks like she's got something to tell us Vegeta..." Nappa taunted her with a chuckle.

"Shut it, Nappa." Vegeta silenced him quickly, wanting to hear her out. After all, she was going to be his mate.

"Vegeta..." she started trying to find the right words. She'd thought of what to say for a year and even will all her practice, she still didn't feel ready. "...I hope words will be enough to solve this matter... I-"

"Let me stop you there Rori" Vegeta interupted as he walked out towards her, "You are the last saiyan female... and a phoenix at that... I'm not here to fight you."

With a sigh of relief, Rori's face brightened to this, but he wasn't finished. He reached out and took her hand in his, "you will come back with us... and you can explain what you were thinking when you left so recklessly, but this planet is going on the market regardless once we get our wish."

Rori pulled her hand quickly from his and backed away, "then there is nothing to talk about... this is my home now... not only do I refuse to be under the same roof as that tyrant, but these people are my friends, I won't let you destroy their home."

"I'm sorry, I must have made this sound like it was a request, but this is not negotiable." he then turned to Nappa, "get out the saibamen... let's see how strong these earthlings are."

"The what?" Krillin asked looking to Piccolo as if he might know.

Before they could ask any more questions six saibamen popped out of the ground ready for a fight. "Now I'm going to give you all this one opportunity to tell me where the dragon balls are."

"We're not here to negotiate. We're here to fight." Piccolo responded catching Nappa's interest. "Hey that one's a Namekian right? He must be the one who killed Radditz..."

"Namekian..." Piccolo repeated looking to Rori for an explanation, but she knew little about the Namekian people.

Vegeta called attention to the saibamen, "now, make sure not to kill the green one or the girl. You can exterminate the rest of these pests."

Before they could begin to fight, three other men show up: Yamcha, Tien, and Chiaotzu.

"Thought you guys could use a hand!" Yamacha said with a smirk.

"Why don't we make a game out of it... how about one on ones" Vegeta suggested. The men all fought over it for a moment, but Krillin spoke out the loudest, "Guys we need to buy Goku some time. Let's just play their little game."

Rori agreed, "these guys are strong. We need to buy as much time as possible."

Piccolo didn't appear to want to wait, giving her an annoyed look, but he kept silent. She didn't want to lose him just because he was itching for a fight with these guys. They needed to play it smart.

The saibamen did buy them some time, but only at the cost of Yamcha's life and Rori's respect for her prince. She'd never had any for Nappa, but Vegeta had always had hers and now she was seeing him for the true heartless beast he was. When Yamcha had fallen he'd mocked the warrior, calling him trash. It made her blood boil knowing that she came from a race that could be so cruel. The fact that she'd been stuck on Frieza's ship had shielded her from any of Vegeta's cruelty, but now she was seeing it first hand.

"Control yourself" Piccolo said after killing the last saibaman with little effort. "Don't let your anger get the best of you, Rori"

Rori bit her bottom lip, trying to follow his instructions while Nappa had fallen back on his own deciding to have his fun with the group randomly picking fighters to battle. It wasn't long before they'd lost two more: Tien and Chiaotzu. Despite the action going on around her, Rori had kept her eyes glued to Vegeta and him on her. She couldn't get over it, no matter how hard she tried. How could he be so amused by all of this. Finally Vegeta smirked at her and called Nappa to a hault. "Nappa! We're going to wait three hours and give Kakarot a chance to show up."

Nappa merely shrugged and started back in on the warriors, "sure let me just get rid of this trash real quick."

"NAPPA!" Vegeta yelled causing him to stop in his tracks, "Do you really want to defy me?"

The bigger man quickly fell back as ordered and the waiting game commenced. It was three hours spent mostly in silence with Vegeta and Rori glaring at each other like two children. Vegeta was the first to break the silence. "Well... while we're waiting... Why _did_ you leave?"

"Frieza of course." but she wasn't in the mood to explain.

"I checked on you every month or so... you seemed fine..."

"You can't just expect me to be fine while I was with Frieza of all people... he was going to rape me Vegeta! He had it all planned out and you weren't there. What was I supposed to do?" she practically yelled at him.

"Frieza... promised you to me." Vegeta said staring at her not sure what to believe.

"Surprise, Vegeta. The man who destroyed our home planet lied to you."

They became silent again. Vegeta closed his eyes waiting, Rori paced until her eyes met Piccolo's. She could tell he was uncomfortable with the whole exchange she was having with Vegeta. Vegeta was the one meant to be her true mate. She could see worry in his eyes, but she knew he wouldn't act on those feelings after having doubted her the last time. Now that Vegeta's eyes were closed she let her fingers link with Piccolo's giving him a brief smile, making sure he knew his trust wasn't misplaced. There were just some loose ends she needed to tie up.

After the three hours were up the fight commenced again. Things were looking pretty hopeless without Goku, until Nappa had knocked Piccolo out. That was the last straw for Rori. She'd held herself back for most of the fight with Gohan, per Piccolo's request, but seeing Nappa knock Piccolo out pushed he over the edge. "Nappa!" she yelled and she found he stopped for her much like he had for Vegeta, "That was a big mistake."

He turned to her and smirked, "I see you finally put on your big girl pants... come on brat let's see if you've improved any."

Rori took one last look at Piccolo before she raised her gaze back up to Nappa and the two began to fight. Nappa was strong, but Rori was surprised at how well she could keep up with the big oaf. She got in a few good blows, whether it was fueled by rage or she had actually improved she couldn't be sure, but she didn't have time to think on it. Vegeta however did. His eyes made connections from Rori to the motionless Namekian, then back to the brawl. Unlike Nappa, Vegeta was smart. He could put two and two together and boy had he. The prince couldn't believe he hadn't seen the signs earlier. Rori had stuck close to the Namekian the whole time. She listened to him when he told her to stay back and now that the man had fallen, she was attacking Nappa like he'd killed her mate.

Vegeta began to walk toward the fallen warrior looking over his limp body. _I'd better put an end to this before this gets anymore out of hand,_ he thought to himself while he raised his hand to put an end to Piccolo.

Before he could raise his arm any higher to release his deathly blow a blast came towards him and he quickly dodged it. The shake from the blast was enough to pull Piccolo from his slumber and cause the battle to cease. Gohan had seemed to let his rage take over him and his next target was Nappa. He unleashed a blast at the large man, shooting him back through several layers of rock.

When the smoke cleared, Nappa was irrate. "Hey kid! Look what you did to my face!" There was no time. Rori could not stop him as he sent a deadly blast toward Gohan.

"No! Gohan look out!" Rori screamed trying to push Nappa so his blast would miss but he was too late and the child was frozen with fear.

The blast never hit. Gohan opened his eyes once the bright flash of light dissipated to find Piccolo standing before him, most of his clothing disintegrated, his breathing ragged, his eyes almost transparent. Rori stared down in horror. "Piccolo!" she screamed as he fell and Gohan crawled over to him. "Mr. Piccolo... no..."

"I knew you could do it kid. I'm sorry I was so tough on you, but I knew you could take it. It's up to you and Rori now. Take care of her for me. You're the only friend I ever had Gohan. I'm proud of you."

Rori flew down next to Gohan, tears falling from her eyes, "Piccolo! You're okay... just be still..."

She was trying to reassure herself more than him, but he was already fading. She leaned down giving him a brief kiss, but he disappeared before their lips could touch for more than a second. Her eyes moved to Nappa, "mistake number two."

Rori looked down at Gohan who had as much anger in his eyes as she did, "let's not let his death be for nothing Gohan."

They were done playing games, this was no longer a fight, it was a massacre. IWithin minutes Gohan and Rori had Nappa within the edge of his life and Rori gave him a final disabling blow before throwing him to Vegeta's feet.. "Vegeta... take him and get out of here. This is the only opportunity I'm going to give you. I don't want to see either of your faces again."

"So it's true... you mated with that Namekian!"

"Yes." she replied without a second thought still enraged by her loss.

"Oh... I'm not going anywhere until you know your place..." Vegeta responded.

"Not if I have anything to say about it"

The three looked up to find Goku jumping off his nimbus cloud. He walked over to Krillin giving him half a senzu bean and the other half to his son before he stood next to Rori.

"I know you're itching to fight Goku..." she started as she could see it on his face, "...he killed Piccolo I need to finish this..."

Goku nodded stepping back.

"You're crazy if you think I'm going to fight you Rori, I would destroy you and despite your insubordination you are still going to be my mate."

Before she could argue any further, Goku had supplied enough of a distraction for Vegeta to move quickly behind her giving her a swift blow to the head knocking her out. She began to fall to the ground, but Vegeta quickly caught her and tossed her aside where she would be away from the action, "this is a man's fight Rori. I won't have you getting hurt."

There was a loud crash and the blackness began to burn white. Rori opened her eyes to blinding light that slowly came into vision. She sat up rubbing her eyes before everything started to come back to her. When she opened her eyes she found the only one left standing was Krillin who was closing in on Vegeta's space pod and the prince of all saiyan's himself.

"Wait!" two voices called. Both Goku and Rori looked at one another then back at Krillin. Goku was the first to speak, "let him go Krillin. Show him what it means to be merciful."

Rori couldn't say it better herself. Both Vegeta and her had lived their entire lives being ruled by a tyrant. As much as she wanted to she couldn't hold it against him. "I'm going with him. I want to make sure he makes it home all right."

She stood slowly moving toward Goku as Krillin stood in awe of the two. "Goku... Bulma used my space pod to make a ship... Meet me on Namek. I think we'll be able to wish everyone back if I'm right. It should take me about three months to get there. I have a plan that I think you'll like brother."

She gives Goku a hug and limps over to the space pod where Vegeta was waiting, but Krillin stops her before she can get in. "Are you sure Rori...? This guy... he's really evil."

"Goku's right. Eveyone deserves a chance Krillin... especially Vegeta... I should know better than anyone. Just look at Piccolo. If I hadn't given him a chance I would have never known him... I'm going to get Piccolo back, but first I'm going to make sure Vegeta gets home safe. He always made sure I was since I was a child. I think there must be some good in him." she explained before she hopped in the pod scrunching in next to Vegeta who had almost passed out at this point.

The pod left and started on its way to Planet Frieza 79. The two saiyans were in silence most of the trip, but before Vegeta could completely pass out he mumbled under his breath to her, "I didn't know you were so unhappy there... of course you were, but... I didn't know what to do... What kind of a prince can't even protect his people... he promised he would let you go when you were of age... I should have known... I'm sorry I failed you."

She stared at him furrowing her brow, "Vegeta... you only failed me by showing me you were like him... Don't be like him... make our people proud."

He coughed, spitting up a little blood, but she rubbed his back soothing him until he began to sink back into his seat. "Shhh, we'll be home soon."

"Thank you..." was the last word he said before falling unconscious. She could barely hear it, but he'd said it and she knew something was changing inside of him.


	10. The Plan

Appule stood at attention, seeing a new blip on the radar screen. It appeared Vegeta's pod was returning. When he'd left however, the young saiyan prince had not only Nappa, but Radditz with him. Now here he was returning alone. This was going to be interesting. He made his way to the loading docks where the pod had just landed and watched as the door opened and not Vegeta, but Rori fell out of it. He quickly ran over over to her helping her up with one hand on her side the other in her hand, "you're getting quite the reputation for stealing pods, young lady..."

"I didn't steal this one..." she coughed as she stood up and pulling herself out of his much needed help she pointed behind her to where Vegeta was still in the pod on life support. That was all it took for the man to quickly run over and start to pull the other saiyan from the pod and Rori helped him carrying Vegeta from the other side.

"We need to get him to recovery fast..." she explained as they walked down the hall with the passed out prince.

"Rori how did this happen?" Appule started but cut her off before she could say anything, "never mind that you need to go to Lord Frieza right this instant. He instructed us to bring you there immediately if you should return..."

She scoffed at this, "I'll go to him, but let's get Vegeta taken care of first Appule..."

"Rori I don't think Lord Frieza will-"

"Please, Appule. I promise I'll go right after we've finished. I won't even tell him you knew I was here."

There was silence for a few moments as he fought with his better judgement, but they were still walking in the direction of recovery, so it seemed like he had agreed.

Rori waited outside as Appule brought Vegeta into the recovery unit and the doctors got him into his water chamber. She knew they would treat him, but she wanted to make sure first and see it with her own eyes. Luckily none of the doctors caught a glimpse of her outside because they were all too busy with Vegeta's injuries. Appule stepped out of recovery and gave Rori a look over, "and what of your injuries?"

"I'll tend to them myself... I'm not too bad off..." she looked down at herself, there were a few scrapes and some dried blood still on her face. Out of all those who had been told to look after her while she had spent her life on Frieza's ship, Appule was one of her favorites. He was not like Zarbon or Dodoria and completely under Lord Frieza's thumb, but she supposed this was most likely because he was not as strong as those two, he didn't get as much out of his position; he was there because of fear as well. And so when he would watch her he was way more lenient than the others, she knew now she could use that to her advantage, but she was not going to leave the ship without speaking to Frieza. This would only catch up with her and possible hurt Appule as well. She would be no use to Piccolo if she had Frieza on her back.

Appule kept eyeing her wounds as if he wasn't sure, but she wouldn't let him get in another word. "Come stand out side my room while I clean up and then I'll go see Lord Frieza as I promised."

"Rori, if he finds out I knew you were here and didn't bring you to him directly-"

"I won't let him." she said again and didn't wait for an answer as she headed toward her room.

It took her all of twenty minutes to fix herself up with Appule standing outside her door pacing and fidgeting, but as she'd expected, no one had come by this side of the ship during this time of day and no one was there to ask questions. When she walked out of her room though, Appule stared at her as if he'd seen a ghost. Rori had walked out in one of the dark red dresses that Lord Frieza had tried and tried and tried to get her to wear when she was on the ship, saying that it was more fitting of a lady like herself than the armor she wore.

"Rori... I don't think that will make up for running away..." Appule began averting his eyes because the dress was very low cut and he knew better to look at what was deemed Lord Frieza's.

"It doesn't need to. It just needs to get his attention." she said with a smirk and started walking toward the room Frieza was always inhabiting as he would go over his plans with Zarbon or Dodoria, "once we get there, I suggest you don't come in Appule, I'd like to keep you out of this if possible... You know Frieza can be unreasonable... I wouldn't want him taking it out on you."

The purple headed man nodded as he followed her, to make sure she got to her destination and disappeared down the hall once he saw her go in.

"-Well I think that will just have to do for now, but soon we'll move into the west areas..."

"Of course, my lord." Zarbon answered as they looked up at a map on screen. Both of their backs were turned away from the door as they spoke so they were quite unaware of her entrance. Frieza was sitting as usual and Zarbon stood at his side. She walked up just behind Frieza and stared at the map as she spoke, "Hmmm... I would have thought you would have gotten farther Lord Frieza... I should hope my departure hasn't held up your plans?"

Both Zarbon and Frieza turned to her with a look of shock on their faces, but Zarbon was the first to speak, his face becoming red with anger, "You insolent little brat! How dare you come in here and-"

"Zarbon." Frieza calmly cut him off. Zarbon scoffed with digust and crossed his arms, but Frieza kept his eyes locked on Rori's. His face changed from a blank palate to amusement with a hint of his lips turned up into a smirk as he began to speak, "My dear, I hope you didn't think that wearing one of those dresses **_now_** would keep you from your punishment."

"No need to worry, Lord Frieza. I was merely trying to extend a peace offering in hopes you'd listen to my reasons for leaving..." she moved closer to him and took a seat on the arm of his chair and lowered her voice her eyes lowered but quickly met his at her final word with a smirk, "I was very much looking forward to your... punishment."

"Lord Frieza, she's-" Zarbon started, but Frieza quickly held his hand up to stop him.

"Now, now, Zarbon." he began not letting his eyes break contact with hers as he silenced Zarbon yet again. "She's come an awfully long way... and I am a merciful Lord am I not? I will of course hear her out." His eyes briefly flickered over to Zarbon and Rori took this time to stick her tongue out at him. She'd never liked that suck up and now she was playing his own game and it was infuriating him.

Frieza chuckled catching the briefest moment of her making a smug face at Zarbon, "my, my what am I going to do with the two of you... but go on my dear... why is it you stole your brother's ship, and disappeared for over a year... I am dying to know how it was you thought you could get away from me..."

Rori bit her lower lip keeping her eye contact with this man was difficult. She had gone over it many many times in her head on the trip home. She knew what she had to do like it or not. She had started this and it was time to end it. But in order to take down the most powerful man in the galaxy, it was necessary to get on his good side. She would have to make him believe her, really believe her. It was now that she was thankful she'd never been anything but kind to Frieza when she was on the ship, despite her feelings. And so she let out a tear from all the pain he'd caused her, but masked it as something else. "Lord Frieza... I didn't want to leave... How could I? You're all I've ever known. This is my home with you..."

Frieza appeared to be taken off guard by her sudden out-burst of tears and didn't know what to do. He turned to Zarbon who only shrugged, he'd never dealt with a crying girl before.

"Rori... my dear... calm down..." he turned back to Zarbon again who had taken a few steps back from the situation and then realized he was really on his own. He grabbed her hand not knowing what else to do to stop that horrid crying sound and she slowed a bit, sniffing, "I'm sorry Lord Frieza... I left because... well, I'd overheard you and Zarbon talking... about my birthday..."

Frieza grumbled under his breath making a note to himself to punish Zarbon for not having the forethought to close and lock they door when they were having such a private conversation.

"Of course I was happy... but Zarbon was right... I'm just a monkey... and Lord Frieza you're the most powerful man in the universe... how could I ever be worthy of you... that's a lot of pressure." Rori explained wiping her face of tears and she let out a sigh, "that's why I left."

The room was silent, but Zarbon began to laugh causing both Rori and Frieza to look at him, "come now... that's neither here nor there... why would you return then... you're the same runt you were... Lord Frieza, punish her and put an end to this. I've gotten word Prince Vegeta has returned... you could always-"

"Oh yes, Vegeta... I forgot to tell you of the gifts I've brought back for you Lord Frieza" she quickly panted a fake smile on her face and squeezed her hand in Frieza's, "I know I wasn't worthy of you, as Zarbon so eloquently put it, but... I have found some ways that I might become worthy of you..."

"Oh please she's just a monkey!" Zarbon laughed.

"Zarbon!" Frieza yelled at him. This wasn't good for his plans, Rori had come back but he hadn't known she'd felt that way. In truth he had been grooming her to become **_his_** mate that's why he'd kept her so close yet at such a distance since she was a child and he remembered exactly what he'd said about her to Zarbon, but that was men's talk in a man's room. Did he care about her feelings? No, but it would definitely make it harder on him if she was going to bear his children.

"It's ok, Lord Frieza. I know, he's right... well he was right." she said with a smile and planted one hand firmly on his shoulder so they were looking at each other eye to eye when she took his hand and brought it down to her lower back, "I'm not anymore... present number one..."

Frieza was confused at first his hand slide up her back then back down it all the way past to her bum, "Your tail... it's gone?"

"I removed it... we can call it... a symbol of my loyalty to you..." she said trying very hard not to feel violated as his hand roamed her lower back and pulled her into his lap.

"I see my dear... well that is a very good start." he said unable to tear his eyes from her now, he never thought she would be this easy to conquer, but then again he _**was**_ all she knew. "You said present number one... do tell me more..."

"Oh! Right, yes, number two... well I didn't kill Vegeta... I remembered how you said you'd wanted him to watch..." she tilted the side of her head on the back of his chair and began to run her fingers over the back of his head in an affectionate manner, "I honestly wouldn't want that jerk to see me like that, but, I know it's all part of your plan, so I brought him back. He's a little ruffed up though, it might take him a while to recover... my brother and Nappa however... let's say they met an unfortunate end."

Frieza began to laugh at this and then ran his hand up and down her side, "I must say my dear, I wasn't expecting all this from you, what a pleasant surprise this whole mess has become... I knew you had been training, but I never knew you held this much animosity towards your kind... I'm sorry... not your kind anymore it would appear."

"Lord Frieza... you have been the one looking after me all these years... keeping me clothed, fed, sheltered and more than I could ask for. You've been so protective of me... and what have they done? How could you ever doubt my loyalty? Maybe it's because you never got to know me very well. I'd say even Zarbon probably knows me better than you, but that will change..." she smirked and ran her hand down his chest moving in a bit closer, "I'm sure soon you will get to know me **_very_** well. And you'll see who I really am." Oh, she wasn't lying there.

Frieza leaned in but she stopped him, putting her finger to his lips, "not quite yet... there's one more thing... well two really..."

Frieza said nothing just waiting to hear what else she could possibly have in store, "the first thing is I want to wait... until Vegeta is able to see this just like you'd planned. I left and I messed up your plans so I want to make that right. And the last present I will actually have to leave for a little bit to get... I wanted to make sure I was worthy of you... so I found a way to make you immortal Lord Frieza"

She knew this would catch his attention, he'd been searching down ways to do this for a while because no one can be the greatest forever, eventually someone would surpass him, but not if he couldn't die. Rori doubted the dragon would have enough power to do this, but luckily for her, it could bring Piccolo back to life and with Goku on the way, they had to have enough power combined to take down Frieza.

"How exactly is this?" He stared at her sobering up a bit from her close presences when he found she might hold the key to his immortality.

"Well there are these dragon balls on Planet Namek, but not just anyone can get them... I've befriended someone who can lead me to them and once I find all 7 of them the dragon will come out and he will grant you one wish." she smiled thinking of how happy she would be when she wished for Piccolo back, but to Frieza he only saw her happiness at his advancements.

"And what do you get out of this..." Frieza paused and she knew she had made a mistake. He didn't trust her, but she would just have to change that, " Rori if there is one thing I've learned... nobody does anything for me because they can... they either want something or they're terrified of what I might do to them if I found out they weren't following my orders."

She stared at him not sure what to say to this but he grabbed her chin in his hand and pointed her head toward Zarbon, "you see him? He follows my orders because he's frightened of me... so much so that I can trust even when my back is turned, he will carry out my will."

She watched Zarbon's face become offended by this, but even he knew it was true, though no one had ever said it so blatantly before to him. Zarbon remained quiet even in his embarrassment because what Frieza had said was true. Frieza then turned her head back to face him. Her eyes looked at the ground, not willing to meet his eyes just yet, but he forced her head up so she looked at him, "There we go my dear... eyes on me. You're not like him, you're not afraid of me, I've known that since you were young, but if you're not afraid then you want something. So... out with it."

Rori bit her lower lip and he watched her do so buying her a little time to think before she finally spoke, "You're right... I can't hide it from you... I was just hoping... that perhaps you wouldn't want me as just your pet... I think I can be much more for you, so I was only hoping perhaps you would let me ask for immortality as well... and we could-"

"Pffftt"Zarbon began to laugh behind them, "Really... Rori, you thought a lowly saiyan as yourself could end up with Lord Frieza? The most you could ever be good for is a romp in the sack once or twice."

"Ignore him dear..." he said with a smirk letting her chin go, feeling as if he'd won something out of her, "You've already done more for me in an hour than this one has done in a life of serving me..."

He smirked and let his hand graze over the spot on her back where her tail used to be, "and I can say you've definitely proved your loyalty to me. But I don't trust anyone... so we will cut a deal. I will let you go... to this planet Namek, but you will take Appule and Cui with you. Once you've found 4 of them, they will contact me and I will come to the planet while you find the other 3. Then _I_ will make the wish. If there are no mishaps... I will add your name in with mine. Do we have a deal?"

She smiled and nodded, hugging him right away, "I promise you won't be disappointed."

She stood up and started toward the door to get ready but Frieza called out to her and stood, "Wait just one minute... we didn't seal the deal."

It was a good thing her back was to him because her eyes widened. She knew exactly what he meant and it wasn't a hand shake, but she couldn't back down. She turned to him keeping her face neutral and walked back to him. He ran his fingers through her hair and smirked, "I think it's only fitting that we seal the deal with a kiss don't you sweetheart?"

"I could only hope." she said with a smile and closed her eyes mustering up an image of Piccolo in her head with all her might as she kissed him and his probing tongue found its way past her lips. Before she knew it though, it was over and he appeared to be pleased with the kiss. "Get going then... and when I see you again... we will finish this with the prince as our audience."

Her face turned red and she nodded leaving the room. Rori ran down the hall to her room grabbing her stuff. She went into her bathroom and changed out of that stupid dress she had put on for Frieza and proceeded to brush her teeth several times and rinse her mouth out trying to get the taste of him off her lips. She was back in her comfortable fighting gear now and headed off to find Appule and Cui. She knew this would be a piece of cake now, Appule was on her side for the most part and well Cui... he would be easy to deal with, he always had been. It was Dodoria and Zarbon that had been her problem, but with neither of them there, she'd have her mate back sooner than she'd have thought.

* * *

Back in the main room, Frieza turned to Zarbon who was now standing in the corner trying to figure out what had just happened. "Don't just stand there like an idiot Zarbon! Follow her... and make sure she doesn't know. If anything is off... and I mean really off not just you don't like her... you get a hold of me before it happens!"

"Yes!" it was all Zarbon could say before he left the room leaving Frieza to his own devices. Yes he was pleased with himself, by the end of this he would be immortal, and whether or not Rori had told him the truth he would have that phoenix on her knees willingly or unwillingly, everything was falling into plan perfectly now.


	11. Namek

"Fuck" Rori cursed under her breath as she looked down at the 3 dragonballs she'd gathered, "It's not enough... and he's already got 2 of the dragonballs... and Vegeta has one as well... what should we do?"

Rori looked to the Namekian next to her for instructions. It seemed funny how he could calm her down... but maybe it was because he looked so much like her mate.

"Don't worry, we still have the one hidden... And there's a password on it. None of the other Namekians will give that information up to someone like him... and it appears your friends have finally shown their positions..."

"Just in time..." she smirked as they both ran towards a surge of power.

* * *

"Where have you been?! You've been out forever and I've been here waiting on you with that crazy Frieza on the loose!"

"Sorry, but hey … I've got a dragoball!" Krillin said with a laugh, before looking around, "Hey where's Gohan? I thought he was with you?"

"We found a dragonball close by, so I sent the kid to go get it." Bulma started as Krillin's eyes grew wide, " What is it?"

"...There are some big power levels headed for us"

"You idiot! You were flying around with that dragonball! You lead them here! Who do you think that would be? No one good let me tell you!" Bulma yelled at Krillin, bug when she looked up, she noticed it was Rori who was approaching, "or...it's Rori! Hey!... wow that was fast! Looks like you already got half the dragonballs... and ...how did you get Piccolo back already?"

" Not Piccolo... Guys, this is Nail." Rori introduced him, "He's been helping me gather dragon balls from the Namekians before Freiza gets them.. I guess I should fill you guys in..."

_-  
"What are you doing!?" Cui shouted in confusion. He looked down at the pile of dust that once was his scouter. "How are we supposed to track these Namekians down now?"_

_"Not my problem" Rori said as she looked up at the sky pointing at a blip that looked like a falling star crashing in the distance, "that'll be Zarbon. If you want to stand a chance against Frieza, you'd better listen up and listen good. Zarbon will call Freiza as soon as he thinks something is up... so I need you two to split up and act like you are looking for dragonballs, I'm going to keep my energy down so he won't be able to find me. Without the scouters, we won't be able to communicate, so you won't be able to tell Zarbon where I am if you run into him... Once I get the dragonballs, we'll have an end to Freiza. And if Zarbon asks, some Namekians destroyed our scouters... I trust you two... I hope I'm not wrong in doing so."_

_Appule stared at her and sighed with a nod, but Cui was a litte harder to convince looking skeptical._

_"If something happens, Zarbon will alert Freiza and we'll have **no** chance." she tried to convince him, and he finally agreed._

_It took some time for Rori to sense some of the Namekians, but when she did, she ran towards the highest level one she could find._

_Soon she reached a house on the top of a plateau with a dome shaped house where the strange power level seemed to be coming from. She knew she couldn't find the dragonballs without Bulma's radar, so the next best thing was to talk to the Namekians and hopefully they would help. Before she could enter the house, she gasped at who came out of it and stared at him for what seemed like hours to the Namekian who was also staring at her, never having seen someone that looked like her before. He looked like Piccolo... but something was different._

_"Who are you?" He finally asked before another voice from inside the dome called out, "Nail, bring her in!"_

_With that Nail stepped aside, but continued to stare at Rori and followed her in the building until they reached Guru. She stood a bit intimidated at the size of the old Namekian, but he was much too old to cause her any real harm._

_"This is Guru. He is the eldest of our people-" Nail began before he was cut off._

_"What are you here for child?" the larger Namekian asked her._

_Rori took a deep break before she found her words, "I came here from Earth. Our guardian died causing our dragonballs to turn to stone... and there is a great evil coming. We need to wish back one of our warriors to protect us from it, but it's become impossible without our dragon balls... I've come here hoping that this planet might have its own dragonballs that we could wish back our warriors with... If you search out, Guru, I'm sure you'll be able to feel the evil that is coming."_

_"The dragonballs are only for our people, we cannot-" Nail was cut off by Guru again._

_"What she says is true... there is a great evil on it's way... stronger than all of us... He will be the end of our people if we don't act. Nail, take this one to the villages and collect the dragonballs, let the village elders know that I require the dragonballs." Guru cut in again, to which Nail could not go against being sworn to carry out the elder's orders._

_The two began to leave until Guru stopped them, "Wait. Come here girl, there is a power in you that has not yet been unleashed."_

_Rori blinked confused, but walked over to Guru's outstretched hand anyway. He raised it over her head and before she knew it, she felt a surge of power overcome her._

_"Wow... I... how is this possible?" she stammered._

_"Your full potential has been unleashed, that which was hiding within you." Nail explained._

_"Now, hurry you two. The evil is approaching quickly."_

-  
"And that's pretty much the story..." Rori explained how she met Nail and how many dragonballs they've gotten so far, "Once Frieza came, we've been keeping our power levels down and because he doesn't know how to sense energy we've been staying under the radar, but Vegeta is looking for the dragonballs as well..."

"And it looks like I found them", Vegeta touched down next to them with a smirk, "I do appreciate all the effort you went to gathering them for me though... and for that I'll only kill some of you."

"Actually, I believe that's my line, Vegeta" Zarbon said as he also arrived on the scene, " Hey, you, the short one. Hand over your dragonball so we can be on our way."

"Zarbon... what happened to your scouter?" Rori asked looking a bit concerned.

"They're all broken. Not that they're much good anymore." Zarbon answered in a huff, his gaze turning to Vegeta, then back to Rori, "Now help me bring these back to Lord Frieza, before he gets any angrier."

"Wait... so... Frieza doesn't have a scouter either?" Rori asked, while eying Vegeta to see if he caught on to where she was going with this and it seemed the only one who didn't yet was Zarbon.

"What are you deaf? I just told you... they're all broken!" he yelled at her.

"Wow... he's so handsome... Rori... introduce me!" Bulma said nudging her, but the blonde saiyan only smirked at this.

"Mmmm... Bulma, there's no point. I assure you that he'll be dead within minutes." Rori turned to Vegeta, "Please... let me have this one..."

"I knew it!" Zarbon yelled, "You've been playing Frieza this whole time!"

"Well congratulations. You're the last one to the party and the first to leave." Vegeta said rolling his eyes, " He's all yours Seirori, but don't say I never give you anything."

"I've been waiting for this for a long time" Zarbon said with a smirk. He began to grow as he transformed becoming the bulkier version of himself, "You've been nothing but a thorn in my side since you arrived on the ship."

"Trust me... the feeling is mutual" Rori said dropping the dragonball she was carrying.

With that Zarbon charged at her, but she held her ground throwing all her force into a well formed punch directly to his stomach, knocking the wind completely out of him. Zarbon's eyes widened as he was barely able to speak again, "How... did you get so strong..."

She kept her hand on his chest holding him still while sending a wave of energy right threw him. Zarbon's body flew back with the giant hole in it. Rori quickly calmed herself breathing heavily, before turning to Vegeta, "Now then... I believe we had some business to take care of."

"You're right." Vegeta said with a smirk, "As far as I can see, you have four dragon balls, so I'll just be taking them and heading on my way."

"Okay." Rori said picking the dragonball back up and handing it to him.

"WHAT?!" the rest all seemed to be shocked.

"You heard the man. Give him the dragonballs" Rori said walking over to Krillin and winked to him and Bulma as she took the dragonball, "Look guys. Vegeta is way stronger than any of us and we're in enough danger here as it is. It's time to face the fact that Vegeta might be our best hope at beating Frieza."

"...Right." Vegeta analysed Rori, scoping her up and down when returned to him with another dragonball and took the other two from Nail, "...exactly..."

He couldn't come to any conclusion about her yet, although she **did** help him get back safe and sound, so maybe she was on his side after all...

"Thanks for the help Nail!" she said waving back to the Namekian.

With that the two saiyans took off with the four dragonballs, leaving Nail with the others.

"What was she thinking?!" Krillin screamed with his hands raised to his head.

"She was thinking Gohan still has one of the dragonballs and all we need is one!" Bulma said with a smirk, "If she knows where Vegeta is hiding the rest of the dragonballs, then when he goes to find the other ones, all we have to do is bring the last one."

"Are you sure she's Goku's sister..." Krillin started shaking his head, "she seems have a little too much brains for that.."

After a few several minutes Gohan arrived with the dragonball, "Hey guys... I think we should change the camp site... we've only got a few minutes until Vegeta realizes I stole this..."

* * *

"Fuck, goddammit!"

"Vegeta! Wait up!" Rori yelled trying to do her best to keep up with him after he found out the other dragonball was missing. "Stop being such a big baby!"

That made him stop in mid-air and turn to her, "that is the sound of someone who wants to sit this out just like last time! I knocked you out before and I'll do it again!"

Rori rolled her eyes and that's when he reached out and grabed her by her armor, "Hey! We are supposed to be on the same side! What are you trying to do here!"

"You know as well as I do Goku is our best bet. I am not going to let you wish for imortality, Vegeta! That's just crazyness!"

"We'll see about that!" he said before he started speeding off again. Anytime she compared him to her twin, Vegeta always began acting like a wounded puppy. When he reached his destination, he found everyone he was looking for in a neat little pile at Guru's.

"Where is it!" He screamed as Rori touched down next to Krillin, finally catching up to Vegeta.

"Everyone stop! 5 large powers are coming! Stronger than anyone here!" Guru's voice called out from inside causing both Rori and Vegeta to freeze.

"The Ginyu Force..." the two saiyans breathed in unison.


	12. I Believe in a Thing Called Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Piccolo comes back :3 hope you all enjoy

"The Ginyu Force..." Rori barely gave voice to the words. Her eyes became wide in realization. Of course this was always a possibility, but she'd still never thought Freiza would be desperate enough to call on his father's army. During her time under Freiza's capture, she had come to know these men quite well and was not looking forward to fighting them. While Rori had been shocked into silence, Vegeta had taken a different approach for dealing with the bad news.

"Give me the dragon ball!" he screamed threateningly, while holding up Krillin by his collar and shaking him, "We don't have time for your stupid games right now! I need to wish for immortality! As we speak there are five men as strong as me... perhaps even stronger than I am on there way."

"No way!" Gohan shouted while clutching his fists in anger, "My dad's coming and he'll taken care of those guys!"

"Maybe one or two of them, but not all of them..." Rori chimed in pulling herself out of her silence, "He might be right this time..."

She kicked the ground frustrated by the way things were going. This wasn't the plan she'd had in mind, things weren't supposed to progress this way. "Dammit! ...Look those guys are so strong, not to mention Freiza's here as well... and Gohan... your dad's on his way but he's not here yet... We don't stand a chance without him... but I fear the same is true for him... we need to work together on this one... despite what we're trying to accomplish..."

"But if we wish him immortal, we won't be able to make the wish we came here for!" Krillin yelled still in Vegeta's grip.

"And a lot of good our wish of bringing Piccolo and Kami back to life would do if they're killed again in a few minutes because we can't hold our own against Freiza and the Ginyu Force..." She countered.

"If he wishes for immortality, can't you just use the other two wishes to bring back your friends?" Nail asked looking a bit confused at the dilema.

"What?!" The group questioned in unison.

"You mean to tell me, the Namekian dragon balls will grant us 3 wishes?!" Krillin asked hesitantly.

"That's what I said..." Nail shrugged as if it were common knowledge.

"That settles it, let's get going then!" Vegeta said looking to Krillin, then to Rori.

"All right... I'm in..." Rori finally answered.

It still took him a minute, but Krillin sighed, " I don't like this."

"You don't have to like it, but you'd better do it if you want to be alive long enough to regret it!" Vegeta yelled letting him down, before they all flew toward the location of the dragon ball Gohan had stolen.

After picking up the last dragon ball from Bulma, the four sped toward the location where Vegeta had left the rest of the dragon balls.

"We made it!" Krillin shouted ecstatic as they landed, but the second after they touched down, Captain Ginyu took his place between them and the dragon balls, followed by the rest of his men.

"Well, well. What do we have here?" Captain Ginyu smirked as he surveyed his opponents, "7 dragon balls, check... a monkey prince, check... ah and a phoenix, condition unharmed and ready for Lord Freiza, as well... looks like I won't have to go to any other stores today, my shopping list is complete."

Dammit! Rori thought as she made a sigh of relief, trying to keep up her role the best as she could, once she noticed the Ginyu force had scouters. If they had scouters, so did Freiza, so she couldn't afford to slip up.

"Took you guys long enough!" she said smiling at King Cold's army, "What does a damsel in distress have to do to get saved from these earthling around here, huh?"

Rori brought the ball she'd gotten early from Bulma and walked over to the Ginyu Force's side. Once she was facing away from them she winked at Krillin, hoping he would catch her drift. If she was with Freiza at least it would be possible that she could keep him from summoning the dragon or wish something else before he could get his immortality.

"You damn traitor!" Vegeta stared at her with as much hate as he could, " I am your prince and your future mate! You will get back over here this instant!"

Wow... glad I dodge that bullet when I met Piccolo... she thought to herself At least he's making it easy for me to be a jerk to him.

"Vegeta, it's over. It's about time you accept defeat." she said shrugging her shoulders and grinned, " Lord Freiza has won."

"I will NOT accept this!" he screamed before he threw one of the dragon balls as hard as he could with the hopes of losing it so no one would win, but within seconds Burter had gotten the ball and come back.

"Miss me?" Burter asked, barely having been gone a second. The rest of the group was still turned around when he touched down.

"No way! No one's that fast!" Gohan stammered in his amazement.

"You were really desperate there Vegeta." The Captain commented with a chuckle, "but even you should know that no one is a match for Burter's speed."

"It's pathetic really... he doesn't know when he's beat..." she scoffed and turned to Ginyu, "Are we done here? I'm really getting bored of his whining."

"In that case, I'll escort the phoenix and the dragon balls back to Lord Freiza..." Captain Ginyu said to his men, "the rest of you can have some fun with this lot."

"Woohoo!" "Yeah!" "I call Vegeta!" " No fair!"

"ugh, come on Ginyu..." Rori said acting annoyed with the group rather than letting show her truly worried emotions. She could only hope they could hold their own. Vegeta had been getting much stronger since he arrived... she wasn't exactly sure how... it was almost as if every time he lost he became stronger. But if that was actually true, they might stand a chance.

The two flew off towards Lord Freiza and the pit in her stomach began to grow the closer they neared to his location. Before long they landed next to Freiza, who was so impatiently waiting for the dragon balls to arrive, like a kid on Christmas morning.

"Well done Ginyu! I should have called upon you sooner, but it seems as if you've brought all that I've asked for."

"Pshh, I'm the one that found them" Rori complained, but to her surprise Freiza didn't respond to this and just immediately began to call upon the dragon. This made the pit in the bottom of her stomach grow even larger, until she realized that nothing was happening.

"Am... am I immortal? Nothing happened."

Rori fought the notion of just telling him that yes he was, assuming he was a bit smarter than that, "there's probably a password. The Namekians trust me... I'll just go and-"

"Wait a minute there, pet" Freiza's voice called her and she stopped in her tracks.

Shit shit shit... don't tell me he knows...

"You know Rori... I was inclined to believe you initially..." he said walking around her like a shark stalks their prey, "and yet I have seen no results from you, only talk... but I am a merciful Lord as I said, so I gave you a chance... it would seem you have failed me..."

" Lord Freiza, I-" she started moving towards him, but when she went to take a step, she found herself surrounded by a cage made of ki. The whole time he'd been walking around her, his tail had been slowly letting out a pattern on the ground to box her in, " Hey... what are you doing let me out!"

"Ginyu, watch the girl and the dragon balls, I'll be a back shortly." Freiza commanded before walking up to the cage, "And when I'm back... love, we can discuss that punishment you seemed to be so looking forward to... and I don't think you'll be disappointed..."

It wasn't long before Jeice had come to warn Captain Ginyu that the rest of his team had been taken out. The two left to take care of Goku and the others leaving Rori with a bunch of underling, who had no idea what she was planning. As soon as they weren't looking she threw a ki blast to the ground and had it make a tunnel under ground leading out of her cage.

"Where do you think you're going?" one of Freiza's men asked holding up his arm with a ki blast gun.

"Adorable... Look I don't want to hurt you guys ...so... solar flare!" she shouted blinding everyone and then headed in the direction of Nail and Guru.

By the time she had reached Guru's place, Freiza and Nail were already gone, but she stopped anyway seeing that the glass dome covering Guru's throne had been broken.

"Guru!" she cried looking around her, "Are you okay? What happened and why do I sense Nail and Freiza in the distance?"

Guru coughed and took in a deep breath, "I'm afraid I'm not long for this world, but Nail is buying the earthling time, while Dende is on his way with the password. If we're lucky, they will make their wish before any harm comes to them."

"Wait... Nail is distracting Guru?! That's a death wish! I have to go help him!" Rori's heart began to race feeling like she'd been doing nothing, but chasing people down and now she was on her way again to find Nail. He wasn't her Piccolo, but they'd become friends while she had been there. She couldn't lose him too.

After what seems like forever, she sensed that Nail and Freiza had finally chosen a spot to fight and she had showed up only moments after they had started fighting.

"Stay out of it" both of the men said in unison as she landed. Their promptness threw her off a bit. She had expected this from Freiza, but not from Nail.

"Nail... I can help... he's too powerful... and your missing an arm..." she tried taking a few steps towards him.

"If I fail, then he's all yours... but for now..." he started and grew back his arm pausing to cry out as it reached its full length, "... you're on the side lines."

"My, my... what a useful trick that would be if you weren't about to die." Freiza retorted and looked over to Rori, "I'd take out your notebook, dear. You're about to learn a very important life lesson: what happens when you don't know when to give up."

Punch after punch, blow after blow, Rori kept trying to interfere, but Nail kept telling her to stay back, until finally he seemed down for the count and yet he was laughing.

"Oh, my, I think I've literally knocked the sense out of him... he's gone mad" Freiza murmured to himself.

"Oh, I'm not crazy..." Nail started laughing, "while you've been here trying to get the password out of me, Dende's probably made it to the earthlings with the password. They're probably about to summon the dragon as we speak."

"What?!... that kid I passed... oh for fuck's sake! The one time I don't kill a kid!" screaming as he blasted off, not even bothering with Rori, with such little time to waste.

Rori however ran to Nail's side kneeling next him. "That was very brave of you... you know he could have killed you."

"Well... there's no reason both of us should die..."

She laughed and rubbed his side, "you're not going to die, I won't let you. If anything, when we get back to earth, we'll wish you back and the rest of your people... I've caused enough trouble for your people."

Nail reached up and cupped her face, "don't blame yourself for trying to get out from under that tyrant... he will be stopped... can't you feel it?"

Rori was taken aback by his touch, but her face softened soon. She nodded and placed her hand on his as she stared down at him. Their eyes locked and they watched each other silently. His eyes were so much like her mates and she had been without him for so long. She just wanted to look a little longer and feel like she was close to him. They both stayed silent and unmoving until it was almost painful.

"Tell me about your mate..." Nail asked her, his breathing was a bit shallow, yet somehow he could still make the words out, enough to ask her to talk to him and take his mind off the pain, " you said he was one of my people... seems impossible..."

"He was... is... will be again..." she stumbled over her words putting as much hope into them as she could muster, " as soon as they make their wish... he actually looks very much like you... did I tell you that?"

"well we all look alike... " he laughed a cough away.

"Not just because he's green, you know... but um... well... when I first met him... he was so... vengeful and angry... some of the others would even say evil... but to me he was just... lost I think... unsure of his purpose and himself... but there was something in him that I was just drawn to... something I've never seen in anyone else..."

"...It must be difficult to look at me..." he said realizing the intensity behind her eyes when she watched him, but she nevertheless smiled and shook her head, "no... you remind me that he's coming home to me soon... when I get back to earth. Thank you for that Nail..."

" You won't need to wait to get back home for that..."

Nail watched the look of recognition reach Rori's eyes as she heard the voice that came from behind her. She dropped her hand from his and ran to Piccolo, burrying her face into his neck, taking in his scent, and pressing her body as closely to his as she could. He lay there watching something he's never seen before. The people on his planet did not mate, so even in his pain and his weariness, he was still a bit curious about the two, but the Namekian Rori had attached herself to didn't hesitate to hold her as closely as she held him. He watched as she kissed up his neck and anywhere else she could manage to reach not even bothering with the tears streaming down her eyes.

"Don't you ever do that again Piccolo!" she cried between kisses.

As Nail watched them, he noticed the smile on Piccolo's face was faint, trying to keep up appearance, but he was just as happy to be rejoined with her as she was, but he could see what she had meant. This Piccolo had been separated from himself and his people for so long. It was written all over his face, if one was looking close enough. Despite that, what he saw that the two had seemed to surpass that confusion in Piccolo and give him something that Nail couldn't begin to comprehend, but he wanted to. This was something he was craving now after watching the two. He had a curiosity to know what it was like to be with someone like her.

The two parted after a few minutes of blissful kisses. Their time was dwindling and Piccolo's face became serious, "there will be plenty of time for this... but now we must take action, Rori."

"I know... you're right..." she answered her voice still breathless from their kiss.

"Rori!" Nail cried out, "Go on ahead... I need to speak to your mate for a moment... there's something he should know about our people."

Rori looked from Nail to Piccolo, but decided to leave the two alone, on her way to join the others battle, after Piccolo gave her a look as if to say she should do as Nail said.

"Brother... You have split with your other half have you not?" Nail asked, but didn't wait for him to answer, "Why would you do this? Freiza would have knelt at your feet had you not."

"Well even if it was possible now, we split for a reason. I wouldn't put myself back with that old fool, even if it could bring Freiza to his knees." Piccolo scoffed and turned to leave. He didn't have to put up with this. No one told him what to do.

Nail could see that he had struck a cord, but tried another approach, calling out Piccolo's turned back. "Then fuse with me."

This caused Piccolo to turn back, but not exactly change his mind. " I don't think so...I've got used to my autonomy. I'm not about to lose it now."

"It's not that simple... I will fade into your subconscious, only my strength will remain... This is a chance for you to make sure Freiza pays for what he's done to our people... and for all he's put Rori through. She's your mate isn't she... don't you want to make that bastard pay for what he's done to her? What he wanted to do to her?"

"This better be worth it..."


	13. Burning Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And we have our super phoenix

So the dragonhad been summoned, Piccolo was back, and Rori was on her way back to Freiza's ship. The tyrrant had a head start on her, but with any hope she would make it there before anymore damage was be done. She could already feel that Freiza and Vegeta were fighting now, the only question in her mind was had he made the wish. She knew now that the dragon granted three wishes, so the first two were obvious: Piccolo was alive and on Namek. That left one wish, but what was it? Was Vegeta now immortal? Or worse was Freiza? And what happened to Goku? She could feel he was alive, what was he doing?

Lost in her thoughts and worries, she came out of her trance when she felt Freiza's power level sky-rocket. He must have transformed, she said to herself aloud, Well that's enough playing on the sidelines. This is my fight and I'm sick of being told to stay out of it or getting put in cages... or knocked out. I won't let anyone else get hurt!

After a few moments, she arrived on the scene unnoticed to find Krillin stuck in the horns of a much larger than she'd ever known Freiza. Before she could do anything Gohan went into a rage, knocking Freiza down and catching him off guard. Of course this only made Freiza want to go after Gohan, and that moment of rage that fueled the child was now gone. He just looked like a scared child again, unsure of what to do now.

While Freiza had his back turned to her to go after her nephew, she quickly came up behind him grabbing him by the tail, "Uh, uh, uh. I'm not waiting another second. It's MY turn. "

"Well, I wouldn't be a gentleman if I refused a request like that, now would I-I ahhhhh" Freiza screamed as he turned to find his tail sliced in half by the human he thought he'd just killed.

"How?" She mouthed staring at Krillin who was now taunting Freiza.

"I'm sorry, my dear, I know you've been waiting, but there's a pesky fly I must take care of first." with that Freiza took off after Krillin.

While she wanted to follow, Rori took this moment to go over to Gohan, hugging him, " hey are you all right kid? You really got him good there. Your dad would be so proud."

"Yeah, but... how is Krillin back?"

"I healed him" Dende said as if it was obvious.

"Wait... this could work..." Rori said as her eyes connected to Vegeta's and it seemed like they were onto the same thing. If they could keep Dende around and tag team Freiza for long enough they might get the power boost they needed from being healed, " alright Vegeta I call first, I've been waiting for this."

"Of course, ladies first and all that?" he answered with a grin, " but make sure to get good and beat without getting dead."

"Got it!" she agreed before going after Freiza, saving Krillin the time to come back. Suprisingly, he had made out well enough on his own.

"Vegeta, why are you letting her fight Freiza alone? He's too strong for us... I don't follow" Gohan asked worried and rightfully so as it seemed like Rori wasn't faring too well against Freiza.

"We Sayains get a power boost when we recover from a near death battle. All we have to do is distract him long enough for the Namekian kid to heal her and then me. By then, we should be more than strong enough to take him down." Vegeta explained.

"Well... we'd better get in there fast!" Gohan shouted as he pointed over to Rori who was just knocked to the ground near them by Freiza.

Vegeta was ready to head over and tap in, but before he could, Piccolo appeared and began to fight with Freiza and he wasn't losing. It was a shock to everyone, especially Freiza. To Freiza's mind, the he had killed all the Namekians and none of them could even last against his first form.

"Now!" Vegeta yelled at the kids. Gohan and Denede ran over as fast as they could so that Dende could heal her without being noticed.

Within a few seconds Rori was up and looking good as new, "Thanks kid... woah... is that Piccolo fighting Freiza?"

Gohan grinned and nodded, "Yeah, I don't get it either, but he's really strong now..."

They watched in awe for a moment when Rori felt Vegeta's hand take her wrist, "Come on! We're getting out of here while we can!"

"What are you talking about Vegeta? We can win! Don't you see?" she asked pointing to the fight that was going on, " and he's outnumbered."

"This is only his first transformation, Rori!" he said pulling her up from the ground. "We can save our race. We just need to get out while we can."

"Ah, the ever brave prince, bravely fleeing the scene, huh?" She pulled her arm away before pointing to Gohan and then to the ship, " in case you haven't noticed, Prince Vegeta, half of our race is here! There's only four of us and you can't leave half of them behind!"

"Our race only needs the two of us to survive, the royal blood line and the phoenix... now you will listen to me. We are leaving." He turned his back to her. Her arm was in his hand as he started to leave. Rori rolled her eyes and hit him with a ki blast to the back knocking him to the ground and damaging his armor.

Another thing she had been wanting to do for a while. Vegeta said he had nobel reasons, but had been obvious he was just freaking out. First Krillin gets chased by Freiza and holds his own. Now it looked as if Piccolo was actually winning. Vegeta might not be the strongest anymore and she knew it terrified him more than he let on. There now Dende will heal him like he wanted. Hmph... Nice that it's not me for once.

"You'll thank me later" she said with a sigh and looked to Dende, "I wouldn't heal him just yet, but stick around we might need him..."

By now Piccolo had discarded his armor and the battle with Freiza raged on, the gang still in awe of how well he was doing, but then the enemy transformed again. Freiza had now become a monster bigger and uglier than imaginable. They all fought him for quite some time before he took it upon himself to transform into his last form. During which Dende had yet again healed Piccolo, Vegeta, and Rori. This caused Freiza to finally figure out how they were keeping up and send a deathly shot at Dende killing him.

After their healing, Vegeta was once again feeling up to snuff and began to fight Freiza in his final form. He tried his best to take on Freiza, but he was only getting throttled into the ground.

We should help him, Rori thought to herself, but her body wouldn't move she could only watch in horror as Freiza had Vegeta strangled with his tail and continued to beat him senseless.

Goku took this moment to finally join them. Seeing her brother, she snapped out of it and she knelt down to Vegeta's side wiping some of the blood off his face. "Don't let him win. Tell Kakkarot...tell him... about our people..."

"Shhh, he knows and so do I. We're not going to let him get away with this. Just rest." she said smiling at him hoping to give him some comfort. They had their conflicts and she would never have wanted to be his mate, but she didn't want him to die either. They'd been through a lot together. Practically everything. He was like a brother to her. A stubborn arrogant brother, but a brother no less.

"Yes take a rest Vegeta!" Freiza called before sending his red ki blast through the sayians chest killing him, "leave the fighting to the big boys."

Rori stood feeling a strange fire inside her and went to Goku's side, he'd sent everyone else to fight Freiza alone, but she woudln't leave. "I'm sorry Goku. I'm not going anywhere. I'm done running from this bastard."

For what seemed like forever the three of them fought tooth and nail, but it was obvious they weren't going to win. Not without something big. Rori ended up trying to distract Freiza, while Goku gathered in energy for a spirit bomb. The spirit bomb had appeared to work at first and everyone came together with sighs of relief. They were extatic that this whole thing had finally come to an end, but it was far from over.

Freiza silently rose and quickly took out both Piccolo and Krillin in a matter of seconds. And that was the last straw for Rori. Everything seemed heat up now, burning to her core, she was on fire with rage until it all went went black.

 

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
Everything seemed so strangely familiar, the trees, the grass the blue sky, the wind in her hair and the sun on her skin, but it was as if she was wearing dark shades, or in small room seeing the world from under a dim light. And the rage, it was still there burning her from the inside out mixed with a desire... a desire to fight... and something more.

This was earth. That much she could tell from behind her mask of anger, but how did she get here. Things began to come back to her. Piccolo falling to the ground, then Krillin, and Gohan would have been next. It wasn't just her, she remembered a golden light. Right, Goku. Goku had transformed. And if anyone had questioned their connection as brother and sister, they had to just take one look at him as a super saiyan and there it was. She remembered they had Freiza on the ropes between the two of them, they were even toying with him. What went wrong?

Right, he was going to blow up the planet... and then the dragon was back. It was all like a strange dream that led here, wherever that was... right, Earth... It was so hard to focus... Something was still elluding her. She couldn't seem to follow her own stream of thoughts. The desire kept building up, causing her to lose herself. Her skin felt like it was on fire. She was burning up from the inside.

Just need to focus... Focus... This made her jittery looking for something to cool her down.

That's when she saw the stream. She ran over to it, dipping her hands in the water, letting it pool in her hands before splashing it on her face. It gave her nothing but momentary relief. Most of the water had turned steamy in her hands. What is going on?

"That won't work you know" she turned to find Vegeta standing behind her watching her curiously, "Rori, you're a phoenix, it was bound to happen at some point. You're burning up. It won't stop until you put out the flames that caused it. Seems to be rage driven."

"What are you talking about? " she asked staring at him, but a small part of her knew he was tellng her the truth.

"Look at yourself. Rori... You're on fire." he began to explain. She turned back to the water and really looked at herself, but the person she saw in her reflection wasn't the her she'd come to know. Her long hair was now was a mix of red and orangey flowing from the power she was emmiting like a flame down her back. Her eyes were so black she couldn't even seen her pupils. They were so dark as if they were nothing but ash. Her skin was perspiring quite a bit, probably trying to compensate for all the heat, but it made her tanned skin glisten. This wasn't her.

"How do I put out the flames?" she asked still staring down at her relfection.

"You were fighting Freiza when we all got wished here by the dragonballs... from where I was standing it looked like you were about to kill him..."

She felt the rage build up inside her again and the scariest part was, she liked it. No, she wouldn't admit that. She didn't like killing. It was just something she had to do. He was a tyrant... but oh he did squirm... and the fear she saw in his eyes after what he'd done to her... NO!

"That would have done it, but now here we are. And Freiza and Kakkarot are still on Namek. So you won't get that chance."

"So what do I do?! I'm burning up... I'm going to overflow... I can't control this feeling to... to... I need some sort of..."

"Release...? Freiza's not here, someone else will have to take that place. You can kill someone, sure, or you need someone to stop you... you can fight another sort of battle... one where you can find your release... you know... rise from the ashes."

Everything was starting to go black again and her mind was beginning to give way to the numbness she was feeling. It was better than the flames. Easier. She let his words sink into her subconscious as she stood,walking towards him.

"Finally seeing things my way, are you?" he asked as she made her way up to him and nuzzled her head into his neck taking in his scent, " it was only a matter of time, before-"

"Shut up" she whispered and she punched him straight in the stomach knocking the wind out of him, " you're so pathetic little prince. I can smell it all over you. Not even a super saiyan. "

Vegeta was on the ground coughing. This caused the others to notice them from the clearing, rushing back into the woods. Bulma came to Vegeta's side, " hey, are you alright?"

Behind Bulma, Gohan, Dende, and the newly restored Piccolo followed to see what was going on.

"Who's that?" Gohan asked looking to Piccolo.

"Rori...?" he whispered staring at her. She glanced up and her lips twisted into a grin seeing him. Rori closed the distance between her and Piccolo, taking in his scent now.

"Hmmm... my mate... a super namekian huh? You'll do." she said pulling him by his shirt, so he would get the hint to follow her as she took off in the sky. Piccolo followed suit telling the others to stay back; she seemed dangerous.

"What the heck happened to her?!" Bulma asked.

"Damn, Phoenix..." Vegeta said with a cough before pushing Bulma to the side, "Get off me, woman!"

"Geeeez... Touchy. " Bulma scoffed and turned to Gohan, " I hope Piccolo will be okay"

"He'll be fine... She would never hurt Mister Piccolo..."

 

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
They flew for sometime, before landing in a clearing. All was quiet as Piccolo watched her hesitantly.

"Well... you look...different" Piccolo started.

"I know..." she answered, the heat continuously rising in her. It took all of her strength to remain as still as she was being. She needed to explain herself before getting lost in the fire again. It seemed to come in turns and for a moment she was able breath, " I need you to fight me... I need you to win me.."

Piccolo seemed at a loss for words, he started towards her, but he stopped himself still trying to make out what she was saying. Fight her? How could he, he could spar with her, but really fight her?

"You don't understand... I know you will..." she started again her voice came out low and sultry as she moved towards him. She was losing herself again, " I chose you as my mate... not because you were strong... Vegeta was stronger... but you're cunning and you have a rage in you too. I could smell it on you. You told me all about it when we first met."

Rori reached out and touched his arm, but he pulled back quickly, "Your hand is... it's like it's on fire..."

"And where's your fire? What happened, Piccolo?" She asked innocently, but he knew better. The Rori he knew before was lost in the fire that had ignited in her. He remembered the same had happened with him. He had been so focused on revenge, killing Goku, ending humanity... That had been the plan once, but what would that solve.

"Let's face it, my brother is probably dead... so if you want a chance at revenge... Here it is." she said dancing her fingers accross the back of his neck, leaving a trail of feather light kisses along his shoulder and back, " Next best thing. His poor little sister, just waiting to be put in her place."

He looked down at her knowing this wasn't his mate anymore, he had to make a decision. He knew she wouldn't go down without a fight, but that's what she wanted after all. A battle. She wanted to be destroyed, by him. And the scary thing was, part of him wanted to do it.

Rori looked up to him and his eyes seemed dark. He was deciding what to do and she didn't feel like waiting any longer. Turning her back to him, she began to walk in the direction they'd come from, but was knocked to the ground.

"You're not going anywhere" his voice came out deeper than even he'd remembered, but then again he'd spent quite a while without her. They fought like they had in training, but there was no playfullness in it or kindness this time. Her nails dug into his skin causing small trickles of purple to run down his flesh. He knocked the wind out of her a few times trying to find a weak spot, until he finally had her pinned to the ground.

Still she struggled and he knew he couldn't hold her there for long. He moved his forearm up over her and she leaned up to throw him off, but she only ended up hissing, recoiling back to the ground. His forearm was on her hair holding it in place, her head with it and he found his way. It burned, but he had to keep his arm there if he didn't want her to move. Her hands moved to his chest trying to push him off, but anytime she did it caused the pain on her head more and he chuckled grabbing a fist full of her hair, pulling her up and her neck back. She was now in his lap her neck exposed.

He ran his lips up the length of her neck, while his free hand found her hip fighting to steady her in his arms, " you know I'm not going to give in. You're going to have to take it."

"I know, but this isn't the first I've gotten you to submit and I suspect it won't be the last" he said in a hushed tone in her ear. She groaned, bucking her hips to his. At this point it was hard to tell if she was trying to get away or get him going. He wasn't kind as he usually was with her, but she didn't want that. All she could feel now was his body crushing her to the ground as he found his way in after tearing the fabric from her body. Still struggling, she bit his shoulder causing him to cry out, but that only cause his grip on her to tighten.

The heat coming from him was beggining to overwhelm her, mixed with her own heat, as she moved her hips along with his slowly giving into it. He flipped her around, her back against his chest, as he felt her giving into to him, his hands moving up and down her sides and breasts as she rode him. She'd lost herself to him. She knew that he'd won as she felt herself peaking, his tongue laving the spot on the back of her neck where he'd first marked her. She knew he was reminding her that she was and would always be his. She needed to remember.

After so many months without her, Piccolo knew he wouldn't last long and just watching her ride him, trying to find her release, was making him lose himself. His fingers ran from her breast past her belly finding her swollen nub causing her to go over the edge just before he let go as well. She collapsed over onto him, leaning the top of her head to his chest, her forhead touching his chin. All the sounds of the forest were drown out by their panting breaths.

When Piccolo finally came to, moments later the eyes he saw staring back at him were the blue ones he's always known covered in a mess of golden hair that always seemed to fall over them. Her lips twerked up into an awkward almost embarassed smile that made it impossible to hide his own. It was just the two of them after all. He couldn't hide himself from her.

"Hey" she whispered turning to face him, still in his lap.

"Hey, yourself" he answered looking her up and down, causing her to realize she was naked. She quickly tried to cover up, but he just chuckled. After all they'd done together it never ceased to amaze him how she was always embarassed of herself.

"Don't move", he told her while placing his hands on her shoulders. There was a little spark that came from his antenaes and she was suddenly clothed head to toe and so was he.

He leaned in and kissed her before asking, "so... a phoenix..."

"Let's not talk about it... I just want rise quickly from the ashes..."


	14. Ashes

Ashes

A year had finally passed since their time on Namek and things were getting back to normal on Earth, even though there had been no sign of Goku. There was no imminent threat, all was quiet. While Piccolo and Rori continued their normal routine in the forest, Gohan had gone back to studying at home.

As was his routine on hot afternoons like today, Piccolo was spending his time meditating under the shade of some trees. Rori on the other hand was still not very good at this.

"Wake up! You're supposed to be concentrating not sleeping!" Piccolo called to her nudging her with his elbow.

"Ow... how could you tell?" Rori complained, opening one of her eyes to take a peak at him.

"You were snoring..." he explained causing Rori to blush at her misdeed. With that she stood up and stretched her arms over her head.

"You know I'm bad at this... I'm going to go see how the kid's doing... maybe he needs a break from studying. It has been a while. Want to come?"

"No, I'll take advantage of the quiet to _**actually**_ meditate." Piccolo smirked, teasing her.

"Suit yourself" she responded before kissing him on top of his head and made her way to Mt. Paozu to find Gohan.

As soon as she was gone however, Piccolo did not continue to meditate. He stood and headed in the opposite direction. He didn't fly. If he didshe might sense him and get suspicious. Before long he'd reached West city and Capsule Corp.

When he arrived Bulma, Yamcha, and Krillin were outside on the patio talking. Yamcha was the first to spot him, "What is this a bad guy convention?"

Piccolo said nothing, though the comment confused him, Bulma filled the blanks, "Don't mind him. Vegeta just arrived as well... He's in the shower. Where's Rori?"

"She's visiting Gohan." he answered and stood in awkward silence for a moment as the other's appeared to dissect him with their eyes, trying to figure out why Piccolo would possibly pay Capsule Corp a visit, "Can I speak with you privately, Bulma?"

The blue-haired scientist seemed taken back. Piccolo never visited, let alone asked to chat with her. She nodded anyway, her curiosity getting the better of her. "Sure, follow me."

Piccolo followed her back into one of her labs and she closed the door. "What's up?"

"This is... very embarrassing for me... This needs to stay between us, can you promise that?"

"Of course..." she said crossing her arm, now more curious than ever, "What's going on, Piccolo?"

"Rori and I have been trying to have a baby..."

"Ahhhh! Congratulations! That's so exciting! Is it a boy or a girl?! Do you know yet?"

"Stop... I said we've been trying... I'm not sure that it's possible."

"Yeah I was going to ask... with the Namekians... Piccolo, do you even have-"

"STOP. I'm cutting you off there. Just listen... Let's just say... I have all the equipment necessary, all right? We've been trying for a year now... and nothing. Even before that when we weren't really trying... we were still... I just... I don't know much about this, but something should have happened by now, right?"

"How much have you been doing it?"

"3 times"

"3 times a week is a good start, but-"

"No, per day"

"Oh...OH... well yeah... you're right, there might be something wrong..." Bulma walked around to some of her supplies and took out a large cotton and test tube before coming back to Piccolo, "Open up!"

"What?"

"Open your mouth." As soon as he did, Bulma stuck the cotton swab inside and took it back out putting it tube, "We'll get to the bottom of it... I'll need something from her too: a strand of hair, if you can get it. Don't worry I won't say a thing!"

Piccolo nodded, "I don't get women... she hasn't even noticed that something could be wrong... do you have any ideas of what it could be?"

"Well... it's just an idea, but keep in mind that that's all it is an idea, okay? Even if you have the... equipment... There's no guarantee that your two species can mix... It could be like a cat and a dog... nothing would ever come of it..."

He stood silent, letting it sink in. That could be. Most Namekians were asexual. For some reason he seemed to be an exception. If nothing came of this, that would be fine for him. He was never even meant to have children, but what about her? She was not just meant to, but she was a phoenix, it was almost her duty to have children.

"Hey, come on Piccolo, we'll find out. And even if that _**is**_ the case, then we can just ask the dragon balls! Or there's adopting. Don't get ahead of yourself, that might not even be it. Get me her hair and we'll get to the bottom of this."

 

* * *

 

 

Meanwhile, at Gohan's house, Rori was sitting at the table across from Chichi as she complained about what a bad influence Goku has been on Gohan and how far behind he was on his studies. She'd been going on for several minutes now while Rori waited for Gohan to be done with his reading. If he wanted to take a break, he had to finish his reading as Chichi informed her.

At this point she had lost focus of the words Chichi was speaking, becoming lost in her own thoughts. She'd been worried for quite a while now that maybe there was a problem with her and Piccolo, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. She hadn't become a super phoenix since they returned from Namek. It was too much for her. Piccolo kept encouraging her to try by telling her she could eventually learn to control it, but Rori wasn't so sure of herself. That was why they had been meditating so much recently. No it wasn't that. Maybe it was that she hadn't gotten pregnant yet.

"Chichi...?" Rori interrupted her rant about how Gohan was going to grow up to be a delinquent, "...when you and my brother got married, how long were you married before you had Gohan?"

Chichi stared at her, unsure of where her question came from. It was very out of the blue. "Well... let's see... I believe I got pregnant... just a few months after we got married and then I had him almost a year to the date after... Yeah that's about right..."

"Huh... Do you think..." she started, but stopped because Gohan came in the room.

"Rori... do you feel that?" her nephew asked with a worried look on his face.

And of course she did... if she focused. She would know that energy anywhere, "Freiza."

The two left as quickly as possible following the source of the energy until, they found Piccolo, Krillin, Tian, Chiaotzu, Vegeta and Yamcha on the way.

"He should be landing around here, dammit! I knew that Kakarot couldn't finish him!" Vegeta cursed. He appeared to be fuming where he was standing.

"Hey guys! Is Freiza close?" Bulma yelled as she got out of her helicopter and approached the group. Yamcha was surprised, cursing under his breath, "What the heck are you doing here?!"

"Come on! All that time on Namek and I never got to see him. I'm not missing out this time!" She said as if it were obvious crossing her arms.

After a few moments, they all watched as Freiza's ship flew overhead, landing in the distance. It was Vegeta who started to formulate a plan first. They all knew without Goku here, things would be a bit difficult. "Listen up! No one fly! We're going to walk over so they can't see us on their scouters!"

"You guys fought this guy? Unbelievable, there's no way... I hate to say it, but he'll crush us!", Yamcha said backing up slowly.

"Yeah I can't imagine... What can we even do against that kind of power?" Tian looked to Piccolo and then Vegeta, maybe between those two, but the rest of them would just get in the way.

Though Vegeta and the others were worried, Rori thought this might be an opportunity to become a super phoenix again and learn to control it. She was sure if she managed to kill Freiza, this time she would be able to calm the flames. This might be just the thing she needed. "Sorry Vegeta... I'm not sitting this out. You guys forget I was up there with Goku and even if his father's here with him, I can take him. No need for a super saiyan, you've got a super phoenix with you."

"Rori are you sure? you can't control it..." Piccolo started and this caused Vegeta to laugh.

"HA, we all remember how that went Rori... you may have ascended, but if you can't control it you might as well get yourself killed." Vegeta laughed as he approached her, "Now, you've made it painfully clear before that your bad at taking directions, but this isn't your choice. If you go in you're going to give away all of us."

"Screw you, Vegeta! I'm going... who is that?" Rori said as she was about to leave, before she felt another power similar to Goku's.

"It's my dad! It feels like him... like before on Namek." Gohan shouted happily, before they felt Freiza's power disappear.

"No." Rori said shaking her head, "Something's different. Let's go look!"

They all headed over to the mountain that hid the battle, seeing some strange super saiyan that had just started to fight Freiza's father and before long, he won. Not only did he win, but it appeared that he could control when he was a super saiyan. His hair changed back to a normal color before he turned towards them.

"Hey! I'm going to wait for Goku to arrive! Why don't you guys join me?" he yelled to them before flying off.

It took a minute for them to register his words. They all stood in silence looking from one another unsure of what to do before all at once they decided it was best to just follow.

The strange man pulled out a capsule fridge and began to take a drink out of it, "You guys thirsty? It's going to be a few hours, so drink up, if you want."

Bulma was the first to go over with Rori and Gohan. Before Rori went to take a drink, she noticed he had a strange yet somehow familiar scent and it appeared he seemed to notice the same thing about her as the locked eyes, but she thought better of saying so and brought a soda over to Piccolo.

"You _**know**_ I don't eat or drink" he said surprised.

"Yeah but you could... right?" she asked blinking up at him.

"Well... I suppose... I've never tried." he answered taking the can from her hand. Initially, he thought maybe she just wanted two, knowing her saiyan-appetite, but decided to give it a try.

Little by little the others seemed to warm up to the stranger and had a prying question or two for him. Except Vegeta. He, as usual, only had remarks. "You can't tell us who you are, sure." "Oh so you don't actually know Kakarott!" "Lies! The only saiyans left are myself, Rori, Kakarot and his half breed kid. That's it."

"That's enough!" Bulma shouted at Vegeta in particular, but the others who were getting nosy as well, "He just saved us and the Earth from the guy you all were too worried about to fight. Can't you guys cut him a little slack? Geez!"

After an hour or so had past, the stranger was now sitting off away from the others as they waited. Gohan and Piccolo were talking training. Vegeta was sitting alone, pissed off as usual. Bulma and Krillian were talking theories on the mysterious new guy. Rori took this opportunity to go approach him while he was alone. Maybe one person was a bit less menacing than the group.

"Hey" she started smiling at him. He greeted her back, looking a bit unsure of what she was going to say, awkward in the kind of way that only teenagers know how to be. She tried to put him at ease, "So, a super saiyan huh? "

"Yeah... for a while now." he said with a nod and smiled back at her.

"Your parents must be proud."

"I really can't-"

"I'm sorry! I wasn't trying to pry. Just.. You can control it?" she asked, in all honesty she was hoping he could just give her some advice or something to deal with her own super problem, since Goku wasn't there to do so. When she asked this a look of recognition appeared on his face.

"You're Goku's sister Rori, aren't you?" he asked and she nodded, "Yeah... I can control it now, but I couldn't always... You'll get there. It took me a while too. The emotions are... intense at first."

Rori let out a sigh, her hand on her chest showing her relief, "It really is... I was beginning to worry. I haven't seen Goku since we were up against Freiza, so I wasn't sure that it could be controlled or if it was just me. To be honest, I haven't tried it since..."

"You should, it gets easier and easier. Promise." he encouraged knowing full well from the future that she would learn to control it one day according to his mothers accounts at least.

Piccolo watched the two talking from a far while Gohan explained something from one of the books he'd been reading. He could hear them talking and he knew it was innocent, but he couldn't help but feel a twinge of something he didn't like. Then he realized why he didn't like this. Before the only saiyans were Vegeta and her brother. And now he had Bulma's words in his head. _Maybe you two just aren't compatible species..._ This guy was her species and he wasn't controlling and overbearing like Vegeta or related to her like Goku. This guy could be something with her. They could easily have something. He didn't like it. Neither the feeling itself nor that he couldn't seem to shut it down. It was small and in the pit of his stomach, but it was whispering to him nonetheless. Since when did he have feelings anyway?!

The stranger looked down at his wristwatch when it beeped "He should be here any minute now!"

 

* * *

 

 

It had been several weeks since Goku had returned. Rori and Piccolo had continued their training planning to meet up with Goku and Gohan once they'd had some much needed family time (rather… time to convince Chichi to let them train).

While things had gotten back to normal, Rori couldn't help but notice how strange Piccolo was acting towards her since her brother's return. Yes, he was known for being stoic... but this was a new record he was breaking.

This morning when she woke up he was already gone. Normally he at least kissed her or stroked her cheek, whispered something to her when he got up, letting her know he was leaving, but today, nothing. When she went outside, she found him sitting on the edge of a cliff just staring off of it, not meditating, not training, just... thinking.

"Do we need to talk?" she asked as she approached him, uneasy due to his silence, "you're acting weird"

"I'm not acting weird. I'm acting like me... or a least who I used to be before you came a long." he didn't move, he didn't look at her. His voice was calm, but his words were like ice.

"I'm sorry, what are you talking about?" she asked confused at his sudden outburst. This really wasn't like him at all.

"You heard me." was all he said in response. There was a long silence before he started again, seeing as she hadn't moved to leave. He wasn't being clear enough, "Look, obviously we're going to have to train together for the next few years, but once we've defeated the androids, that's it for us. I'm ending it. I'm not myself around you and I'm done."

Rori could feel tears threatening to spill over her eyes, but she held them back, staying firm. This couldn't be right, "This is really what you want?"

He paused and finally looked her in the eyes. His face was hard like he was talking to an enemy and not his mate. His voice was firm, "This is what I want."

"Well..." she started, but took a minute before she continued, hearing her own voice crack a bit at her attempt to speak. When she was sure she could really get the words out she started again, "There's no point in waiting then... you should go train with Gohan and my brother. You did train him after all... Let's just make this easier for the both of us... You won't see me again until the androids come."

With that she left. She flew for hours unsure of where she was going, but in the back of her mind she had an idea. She ended up in West city on Bulma's doorstep, eyes puffy and red unsure of what to say. When Bulma opened the door, her eyes widened noticing something was off immediately, grabbing Rori and pulling her into a hug.

"Who is it?" Yamcha asked from behind her. As he approached, the girls pulled out of their hug and Yamcha could see her face, still wet from crying, "Rori, are you all right?"

Before she could answer, they heard an explosion off in the distance.

"Vegeta" Bulma explained rolling her eyes, "Ever since Goku got back he's been training twice as hard as normal."

"Oh..." Rori said looking toward where she felt a surge of his power and then back to Bulma with pleading eyes, "Please don't tell him I'm here. I really can't deal with him right now."

"Of course."

"Woman! This damn thing is broken again!" Vegeta's cry could be heard from all the way outside.

Bulma's face contorted in anger for a split second, before she hid it leading Rori over to Yamcha, "Hey can you show her to my room, I'm going to go take care of that meat-head and then I'll be right over."

"Come on" Yamcha said putting his arm around her shoulder rubbing it gently and lead her down the hall, "We'll get you fixed up."

Once they were in Bulma's room, Rori took a seat on her bed and Yamcha across from her at the desk. The two had never really been alone together before or talked much when Bulma wasn't there, leaving an obvious air of awkwardness in the room.

"Do you... want to talk about it..?" Yamcha offered, but she immediately looked upset at this, her bottom lip involuntarily trembling, causing him to stutter out whatever came to mind, "... or we don't have to... I get it... too soon. We can talk about clothes or... you know other girl stuff maybe. I don't really-"

"It's okay" she said taking a deep breath, which helped her even out her voice, "... Piccolo broke up with me... I'm not really sure what to do... On top of that, I can't stay there or with my brother because I can't be near Piccolo right now without... well… you know… And I just came to this planet, I don't know anything about it really or where to go..."

"Don't worry. I'm sure Bulma will let you stay here. She's got plenty of room and she likes you. You're the only other girl in our group." Yamcha said with a wry smile trying to make her feel better. There was another explosion outside causing the ground to shake in the room.

"No... I really can't be around Vegeta... Not this soon after Piccolo broke up with me... " she said her eyes focused on the ground as she shook her head. This wouldn't work. She shouldn't have come.

It was silent again before Yamcha stood up, slamming his fist in his other hand, proud of the idea he seemed to formulate, "hey why don't you stay with me?"

"...What?"

"Look, you said yourself you really don't know this planet. I know you're not 100% right now. No one is after a break up, but you need to keep busy. Here's your chance to live a normal life on this planet. You can stay with me until you can get an apartment in the city and a decent job. I play baseball in the city and my agent is always looking for athletic girls for cheer-leading and modeling and all kinds of stuff. I'll introduce you to him. Before you know it, you'll be right at home in your own place with a job and everything."

She stared at him for a few minutes with a blank look on her face, causing him to think that perhaps he was being to presumptuous or overstepping his boundaries. After all, Bulma did tell him once that girls don't actually want guys to fix their problems, they just want the other person to listen. And here he was trying to fix her problems like had for Bulma before; stupid.

"I wouldn't be putting you out?" she asked, her eyebrow knit together in worry. Yamcha let out a sigh of relief. She was just worried about imposing.

"It'll be no trouble at all. Besides my roommate moved out recently, so it'll be nice to have someone else around for a bit."

The door opened and Bulma came in with a tray of drinks her mother wouldn't let her past without taking, "Hey sorry about that guys. Now let's get you fixed up, Rori."

Rori stood up wiping the tears from her face, sniffing a bit, "Actually... I think we've got it all worked out."

 

* * *

 

 

Later that night Bulma went in to check on Vegeta. He was alone in his room doing push-ups, as usual after he'd blown up his training room. She didn't knock and just came in sitting on his bed. This was her house after all; no invitation necessary.

"Is Rori here?" he asked finishing his last push-up as he hopped up stretching the muscles in his arms, "I thought I sensed her energy."

"She was, earlier, but she's gone now." Bulma said crossing her legs, getting comfortable.

"What? Why didn't you tell me?" he yelled and started towards the door.

"Stop!" she yelled causing him to do just so in surprise. She rose from the bed and walked out right in front of him pushing him back into the room with one finger, "I didn't tell you because: _**A:**_ you were injured and _**B:**_ she didn't want to see you! Her and Piccolo just broke up and the last thing she needs is you trying to get in her pants, as usual!"

"What?!" Even though Bulma said quiet a lot to him, it seemed the only thing that registered in his brain was that the last female saiyan was back on the market; "Out of my way!"

"Absolutely not!" she yelled back putting her arm against the door frame to block him from getting out.

Vegeta groaned in anger, "Grrrr, out of my way woman! I could kill you easily, you're one hand isn't going to get in my way, you know!"

"Maybe not, but you can't say I didn't try! And if you don't believe that by leaving this room you'll ruin any chance that I fix that gravity room of yours you like so much, than you're the dumbest idiot on this planet!"

"Gaahhh! Fine!" he said turning around back into the room, symbolic tail between his legs. He got down on the ground again and started doing more push-up, hoping a little training might calm him. This woman was infuriating.

Bulma stood in the doorway watching him with a sigh. Honestly she felt bad for the guy. He'd obviously been after Rori for most of his life and in an instant she was with another guy. Now that she was free again, she still didn't want him. Top that off with Gokur surpassing him in strength and he was having a terrible year. "Look, I know you want to go after her now, but girls need time. Trust me, I know. She's not going to be ready to be with anyone right now. I know patience isn't your thing, but give it some time... she might come around... you've been through a lot together after all. Besides you want her for real, not as some rebound right?"

"No." Vegeta had stopped doing push-ups as she spoke, holding himself in a plank and then came out of it kneeling before he punched the ground leaving a mark on the floor, "It's not...right. Nothing is. I'm the Prince of all Saiyans. I should be the one who surpasses the limit to become a super saiyan. The phoenix should be my mate. That's how things were supposed to be, but I was supposed to have a planet of people too. I don't. I can't even rule over the 4 and half saiyans left. And her and I, as much as I want there to be something between us. There isn't. Honestly... she's more of a sister than anything. She knows it. I know it and yet I keep reaching for it because it's the one thing that seems attainable... but it's not."

Bulma came in and knelt before him putting her hands on each of his shoulders, "You're trying too hard Vegeta. You need to let go and just let life happen. It might not be what was supposed to be, but that doesn't mean it can't be just as good. Better even. You never know what you may find. I broke up with Yamcha a few weeks ago. I'd been meaning to do it for a while, but I held on for so long because I thought it was what was meant to be. It wasn't. Once I let go... I've never felt better."

Vegeta looked up at her and then her hands on his shoulders. She blushed quickly and moved them, but before she could pull them back completely he grabbed them with both hands and pulled her in, covering her lips with his. Their kiss started out slow, almost trying to solidify the fact in their heads that they were actually doing this.

Soon their thoughts and cautions started to fade as a heat built between them and Bulma slid into his lap pulling her hands from his to wrap them around his neck, her fingers carding through his hair. They didn't stop for air, making sure if their lips weren't on each others' they were at least on each other's skin. One more word or even the time to breath and it might all end just as fast as it started. Whether they would admit it or not, the last thing either of them wanted to do right now was to think this through enough to stop.

Vegeta turned her around in his arms, so her back was against his chest as he slid her dress dress up over her head, kissing the skin on the back of her bare neck once it as exposed. She gasped at the feel of her back against his bare chest. She hadn't imagined just their skin touching could make her feel so alive. And she had toyed around the with the idea in her mind of fooling around with him since he'd arrived, though she would tell no one. This was real and it was already much better than her imagination.

Their clothes were strewn across the room and in seconds their bare bodies were all the other could consciously comprehend. Vegeta's hand slid up over her breasts, a feeling of relief running over him that something was happening now, that he didn't even know he'd been waiting his whole life for. Bulma leaned her head back on his shoulder kissing up the side of his neck before she let herself slid onto him. No turning back now. His other arm wrapped around her stomach keeping her body steady and close to his causing friction between the two of them as she moved on him.

Before long he could barely control himself, his hands moving down from her stomach to her hips to set the speed. She had been moving tortuously slow on him, enough to make him want more, but not enough to lose himself completely. Now that he was setting the pace, he could feel himself coming closer and by the sound of her wavering voice Bulma was too. He didn't think, he let instinct take over running his lips over the back of her neck before claiming her as his mate.

Things went white hot as the two finished, collapsing into each other. Neither spoke. Speaking would ruin it. They both knew it. They both contented to going for another round until they were too tired to even move, let alone speak and talk things over.

The next day when Vegeta woke he was alone. He dressed and went out to find that the training room was back in working order. Bulma was outside with her mother. They didn't say a word to each other. They didn't need too. And he knew she was his now. He'd made sure of that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this was a long time coming. A little less fighting in this one, since the last few were very much to get through Freiza and Namek. ... Don't hate me... this is far from over and I assure you all this is very much still a fic about Piccolo and Rori. They're far from over.
> 
> Also some Bulma Vegeta action finally, that has been requested by some of you. So... sorry not sorry ;)  
> Please review!


	15. Blow a Kiss, Fire a Gun

Three years had passed, come and gone. Rori would like to think that they had passed quickly, but they were pain staking long years. Three years and she should have been over him, shouldn't have had another thought about him. Yes, there were even moments she could say that she didn't think of him, but they were fleeting.

Life wasn't bad, per say. She had followed Yamcha's advice. She lived with Yamcha for a few months before she had saved up enough to get her own apartment. She found a nice job, athletic modeling. It was an ideal job for her. It paid her to train, which was what she loved. It gave her pretty clothes and enough money for an above average life style, while doing the thing that she loved. Any girl should be so lucky. Yet as she stared at herself in the mirror, it wasn't right. Something was missing. The color was gone in her life.

The person who was staring back at her didn't look like someone she new. A fancier nicer dressed version of who she used to be. In her haze she continued to get ready for the photo shoot, thinking of how she almost felt like she was back on the Freeza's ship. No, that wasn't true, she wasn't really trapped here. She could leave whenever she wanted, but where would she go? Bulma and Vegeta had some very strange relationship going on for some time now. Best to steer clear of that storm. Goku and Piccolo were still training together... and racing cars together? She had seen them once when she was near their home on a photo shoot. Luckily none of them saw her. She wouldn't have known what to say. The city was best... for now at least.

"So... anything or anyone new?" Samantha, another model asked as she fixed her clothes an make-up in the mirror next to her. This pulled her out of her haze and she shook her head replying with a simple "nope."

"Are you still not going to sleep with Yamcha? Because if you won't I will!" the girl turned to her and winked.

"Tell me how you really feel, Sam." Rori responded as they both walked over to the set together. Sam was the only friend she'd made in the city. She was a bit strange and none of the other girls seemed to like her because she was always very... direct, but that was why Rori liked her.

"Oh come on I'm kidding. He's always asking me how he can get an in with you. It's been what? 3 years since that asshole quit you and the whole time you've had this nice guy just waiting for you to be ready. You're not even going to give him a chance?"

"I-I..." She tried to remember what her current excuse was for not saying yes to Yamcha when he asked her out. Initially when they had been roommates, Bulma and him had been over for maybe 4 months. Yamcha had been a great friends, hooked her up with her job, told her she could stay as long as she wanted. Then one night he asked her out. Then, she had had an excuse or ten: they lived together, he was Bulma's ex, she'd just ended things with Piccolo, she wasn't ready, they'd become good friends and she didn't want to lose that, and the list went on.

Little by little, all of those problems had started to resolve though and she still continued to say no. They no longer lived together. The day she moved out, he'd asked her again. Once more when another year had passed and it was obvious the Bulma and Vegeta thing wasn't just a fling. Yamcha knew Bulma was her close friend and how much she had said no just due to not wanting any bad feelings. After almost three years, he'd hoped she'd be ready. She'd told him over and over not to wait for her, she didn't know if she'd ever be ready again. He'd told her she was worth the wait even if it was forever. He was sweet. Persistent, but sweet. It made her almost want to say yes, just to assuage her own guilt. Almost all of her excuses were gone now and yet, she could feel a pit in her stomach thinking about dating him. They just weren't right. "I don't know... I just think... I don't get that feeling with him. There's no fire there."

"Look Rori, you're not a little girl anymore. You should know that not everyone finds their coup de foudre. And in the meantime you're making a nice guy wait. Nice guys are hard to come by, sometimes harder to come by than finding that feeling."

Rori knew that Sam might be right. It couldn't hurt to try and it was obvious she had already found and lost her only fire. It was time for her to try and forget. She couldn't stand stagnant in a colorless world anymore. It was time to take her life back. Piccolo was over her then it was time for her to find herself again and stop giving him inadvertent control over her, "maybe you're right."

"I know I am" Sam said with a smile ruffling Rori's hair like a big sister would, "now come on!"

A few hours later she left the shoot. Today was the day it was all supposed to go down. 3 years. The androids should be here. She had told Yamcha earlier to call her if they needed her, but with her brother around, in control of being a super saiyan no less, she figured they might not even need her. And if they did, Yamcha would give her a call.

There had been no call, so no problem right? She had stopped trying to sense energy for while now. It had reminded her of Piccolo and what he was doing. So she hadn't bothered in 3 years. Rori walked along the river in the small town they had come to today. Having a quiet day despite knowing that a battle was going on. A part of her hoped she was needed. She missed fighting. Maybe that was the color missing from her life. She checked her phone in the late afternoon and had noticed it was on silent while she was in the photo shoot. She had 3 messages from Yamcha.

"Of course...Argh seriously?!" she picked up her phone not bothering to listen to them and called Yamcha back directly.

It rang twice before she heard Yamcha's familiar voice over the phone, "Rori? Are you okay?"

"Uhh... Yeah I'm fine. What's going on? I didn't listen to your messages I just called right away. "

"Goku had been fine but he finally came down with the heart disease today of all days. We're taking him to Master Roshi's. For now he's taking his meds and hopefully he'll be back in working condition soon, but he's in a lot of pain." Yamcha explained.

"I'm glad you're there with him. And the others? The androids?" she asked but only received a silence on the other end of the line.

"What's wrong?" she asked again.

"They're so strong, even after we knew they were coming... I'll fill you in on the details in person, but for now everyone is still alive. The androids are on the hunt though. They're looking for Goku. So lay low. If you can find a car or a plane take them here, but definitely don't fly we don't want them finding him before he's healed."

"Oh, I'm so sorry Yamcha, I should have been there! I left my stupid phone on silent and I was just avoiding... things..." she felt terrible. Forgetting to turn her phone on was one thing, but even so, she should have come anyway. She shouldn't have waited until they needed her. She should have been strong enough to deal with this by now.

"You didn't want to see him if you didn't have to... It's okay... Everyone's all right. Piccolo's not with us. He's at the lookout, so no worries. Get here as soon as you can and stay safe. I have no idea where the androids are."

"Right..." It sounded as if he was going to hang up then, but she called out anyway, "Yamcha?"

"...Yeah?... I'm still here."

It was her turn to go silent. A voice in her head was pushing her to say something. With the androids and how things appeared to be going she might not get another opportunity. She should give him a chance. And yet she chickened out, "Thanks... for being there."

She hung up before she could hear how he answered. Taking a deep breath, Rori tried to come up with her next plan of action. Find a plane or a hover car. Easier said than done. She'd come to this small town with the other girls. Rori headed back to the town center, walking under the archways heading back to where the shoot was earlier to see if she could borrow someone's car. Even a bike would be good right now!

Distracted as she was, she still saw the ball of energy that would be perhaps nothing to her, but deadly to the elderly woman it was aimed at. Rori sprinted ahead deflecting the ball of energy to the sky as the little old lady continued on her path, none the wiser.

Ugh, I don't have time for this!

"You ruined my streak." came a calm low voice from beside her. Rori turned meet the voice and found herself face to face with a dark haired blue eyed stranger. Her eyes met his and without warning, she felt the fire that had been gone. Suddenly the world had color again.

"You're streak?" she asked confused as to what he could possibly be talking about, "of killing old people not even strong enough to carry their own sack of groceries? That doesn't seem fun."

He laughed at this, before taking a good look at her, his eyes scanning her full body, leaving an awkward moment before answering, "You're funny. No, where's the fun in that. I've been knocking their canes from their hands. You have to use just the right amount of force to knock them out of their hands but not just destroy them."

Alright, that didn't sound fun to her either. That just sounded mean. But now she had to know, "And you were on how many, just now?"

"10" he seemed impressed by his own record, but she just scoffed.

Her eyes moved up his body, no this could not be the man who made her feel something. This could not and would not. He wasn't Mr. tall dark and mysterious like Piccolo... he didn't even look very strong, though looks could be deceiving. And what is with that bandanna? How could a guy like this bring color back to her life when someone handsome and kind like Yamcha couldn't. This made no sense. And, hey, wait a second there, "are you... are you one of the androids?"

"Ah, you've heard of me?" he seemed flattered. No this wouldn't do.

"Why were you counting old peoples canes, anyway? Last I heard you were trying to find and kill my brother, not that I'd mind your change in hobbies, just-"

"Oh well, this is a little side project. See, 18 is trying on new clothes and 16's in the car, but he won't stop talking about birds. So honestly I'm just trying to stay sane while waiting."

"You're doing a poor job of it..."

"I'm not a patient person."

So, there were 3 androids now? Yamcha hadn't mentioned that. Well so much for laying low. She walked right into one of the androids now. From Trunks' description these things were killing machines. Yet, she didn't feel very threatened next to this one. Something must have gone wrong. Did he just say they were in a car? Maybe she was just dreaming... that must be it. This whole day did seem kind of strange.

"I'm sorry, did I hear correctly... You're driving to go kill Goku?" he nodded not seeing what was wrong with it, "And you can fly? But you're not."

"Where's the fun in that?" he answered and smirked at her, "If the game is too easy it's not worth playing."

This... she could work with this. Even though he was an android, he still had some human-like features. At the very least she could distract him long enough for Goku to heal.

"You know, I was on my way to Goku's too, but since I was just going to protect him, I don't really need to be there until you are."

"You have something in mind?"

"A game. And I'm totally going to kick your ass." she said with a grin.

"Lead the way."

Meanwhile, on Kami's lookout, Piccolo was in the midst of fighting with his better half.

"I will let you have your way, but first I want to wait a little." Kami finally answered as he stood over the edge looking down at the world. Something was happening down there. These androids were different. They could have killed the Z fighters and yet they didn't. Perhaps they wouldn't need to do this after all.

"You're kidding?" Piccolo couldn't believe his ears, "We don't have time for your senile games old man!"

"Be patient. I want to see if they pose an actual threat. You and they others attacked the androids, not the other way around. And yet you're still alive. They knew about the Senzu beans, and yet, they didn't kill you."

"Trunks came here because the future was devastated by the androids and you want wait and see?" he scoffed, this was rich.

"And I believe it was Trunks who said these androids were different somehow. Before I decide I need proof that they really are evil."

"Fine... but when it's too late, remember it won't have been my fault." Piccolo took a seat crossing his arms and closing his eyes, "I'll be waiting right here."

Kami stared at Piccolo. He knew the younger Namekian was probably right. However, from what he could see, something really seemed different about these androids than the ones that were described. One was watching birds, another shopping, and the last... well that was the most astonishing of all. He couldn't bring himself to tell Piccolo however.

Even though Piccolo was the child of his past separated being, he was still as predictable as his old man. They used to be one in the same after all. He knew that Piccolo had never really wanted Rori to leave. He wanted her to have the future she was meant to as a phoenix. A future that Piccolo thought he couldn't give to her. It was this kind of selflessness that gave Kami the confidence to even consider Piccolo's proposition.

Moreover, he had come to have a fatherly sort of relation with the son of Goku. That was probably for Gohan's best as well. He was proud of Goku of course, but there could be much said about his parenting skills... Yes, it was a good thing Piccolo was in the child's life, for both their sake.

Kami was confident if he had to make the decision. It would be the right one. How would his younger half take it about Rori's decision though? Best just try to keep that from him if the time came for the two Namekians to merge.

"And boom! I won!" Rori yelled before blowing a kiss from behind a steering wheel, to the android beside her.

"Cheater..." 17 grumbled while looking for the next game to play.

"Oh come on, don't be a sore loser." she smiled at him crossing her arms defensively, but showed him she was only playing by batting her eyelashes.

The two had been at it for some time now as 17 waited for his sister to finish looking for some new clothes in the town. They had gone through most of the games in the arcade at this point, including the laser tag, which now had a broken gun thanks to 17. Rori had been winning so he broke her gun and continued shooting her until his score was high enough just before the game finished. Sure,shewas the cheater.

When they'd exited the laser tag however, there was a very upset manager about to ban them for breaking the equipment. Rori apologized and took a large bunch of cash from her purse, asking if that would cover the guns. Not many people came to the arcade, and she wasn't aware but she had handed him more than enough, so he told them they could play whatever game they wanted on the house. Well not technically, she did pay him, right ?

They had gone to another game, as if nothing had happened, but it was hard for 17 to let this go by without getting some answers. She was Goku's sister after all, she must be strong, but she hadn't been with the rest of the welcoming party earlier and now here she was paying for something he broke. Why ? What was that old man behind the counter going do to her ? 17 could breath on the guy and he'd probably fall over dead. Why didn't she just knock the guy out or kill him ? Seems like a lot less trouble than handing over her money.

When 17 had questioned her on it, she'd shrugged it off, telling him that those were the rules in this society, that she didn't really mind or care. Besides, the guy was weak as 17 said. She didn't want to hurt him, he was defenseless against her. Maybe she was right, but that didn't mean she had to roll over and just take it.

After the laser tag they'd played a shooting game. He'd won. He was much better with accuracy than her. He was an android after all. She'd just complained that it was his fault for confusing her by asking her when she was going to change her hair color to a normal color.

"What are you talking about?" she looked over at him, with her gun still held up to the screen.

"You know, like the others… Vegeta and the purple haired guy. They looked like you until I knocked them around a bit. Do I have to do that to you if I want to find out what you really look like?" he asked her, his eyes fixed on the screen. He didn't even need to look at her to know that she was fuming. He was racking up his score.

Rori took a deep breath realizing what he was doing and went back to shooting zombies, "This is what I really look like, but I can always become a super phoenix and show you what that looks like if you're so eager to end your life… it is still a life if you're an android, right?"

He'd been right earlier. She was funny. And he was curious. This girl was proving to be an interesting distraction, for now at least. He asked her what the difference was and surprisingly she'd opened up to him. Perhaps she was so busy shooting zombies she didn't realize who she was talking to, but she told him everything. From what a super phoenix was, to why she feared transforming again, and even that she didn't get along with all of the Z fighters due to some personal issues. She didn't mention names, but he at least read between the lines, knowing there was something more she wasn't saying. And ex boyfriend probably. Girls, go figure.

Now, there they were at the racing game. Him calling her a cheater for using a short-cut and beating him at the last second and her shamelessly flirting back with him. And just like everything good, this had to come to an end. They had played all the games and they were tied. The only game that was left was one of those drive and shoot teamwork games with a seat behind a curtain like in a photo booth. They both stared at each other, wondering if they should try to make this last or go back to reality where they were enemies.

17 took her hand leading her to the game. Five more minutes couldn't hurt right?

"17… we can't play versus on this one." she found herself protesting, but he continued to pull her in anyway.

"We'll figure something out" he answered. The space was limited, it was made for kids so the two seater, became more of a one seater, he took a seat before pulling her into his lap and closing the curtain behind her. He had no interest in the game, but he found himself, playing it anyway. He was driving, she was shooting dinosaurs, they were both silent. And she was so close. His forehead was leaning against the back of her neck. Did all girls smell this nice up close? He'd never really gotten close enough to notice before. His sister didn't count.

It was still bothering him, even more now that the game was too easy. His mind had time to wander. It wasn't right, she was better than these people. Stronger. She could crush them. He understood that she didn't want to. Some people were like that… apparently. The Z Fighters appeared to be as well, except for Vegeta. She could at least have a little fun with her powers though. This was just sad though. She was an actually caged bird and he hand found the key to the cage. They were enemies, but he still thought why not? It could be fun to let her out. After all, it is the little things that make life fun.

17 let go of the steering wheel, moving her hair away from her face so he lips could reach her ear more easily. He hesitantly left a few kisses down the side of her neck. Trying it out. Seeing how it felt, how she would react. She stiffened in his arms, but she didn't stop him. He knew this was his sign to continue and let his arms wrap around her waist, slide up her sides of her waist and then up and down her thighs.

"We're different from them you know, the people in this society. You can try to live amongst them, but you'll never be one of them. These kinds of games, this kind of life will never make you happy."

Rori fell silent, she was afraid to ask, already knowing the answer, "What are you suggesting."

"Come with me. Stop playing by their rules and play by your own. You don't have to kill anyone, but at least have a little fun with your powers. The world is at your finger tips and here you are playing games on a screen doing things you could be doing in real life. Come with me for one day and tell me don't feel more alive than you do right now."

Rori turned in his lap, staring at him. The past three years she'd been a shell of herself and no one had noticed, but this man… no android saw right through her. She didn't know how to respond. She knew it was wrong. That was how Freeza had been, but yet 17 wasn't asking her to take over the world or kill people. He was asking her to try and enjoy herself. As far as she knew, these androids had killed no one. Were they really as bad as Trunks said they were. Or was she just as bad as them for feeling like they were right. 17 saw her. He really saw her. She'd misjudged him.

"Just give it a try" he said before he leaned and their lips met. She felt the same surge from him she had when they first met, but this time she embraced it. He slid one his hand under her shirt cupping her breast, trying to find its way under her bra. His other hand helped her straddle him, before he moved it to her lower back holding her in place. She gasped breaking there kiss as she felt him hard underneath her. It had been far too long for her.

"Uh-uh" he shook his head with a smirk, "this is our tie breaker. First one to make a sound loses."

"I told you you were a sore loser" she said before rolling her hips against his, feeling the friction and heat coming from him. He groaned, being taken by surprised and she smirked, "Trust me you don't want to play that game with me, I'll win every time."

Before they could go any further, the room shook from an explosion outside the building.

"Looks like 18's done shopping."

So the androids had a new accomplice on their little road trip. 18 was sitting in the back now dressed in what appeared to be a bright red flamenca dress. She hadn't had much luck with her first shopping pit stop and they had been in the car for a several hours today. The dress was soooooo itchy, but she remained in control, while her eyes scanned for exit signs to the closest town through the front window. Unfortunately, the blonde in the front seat was blocking her view.

What had 17 been thinking bringing this girl with them. When she'd asked him yesterday the only answer she'd gotten out of him was to "chill out". Brothers could be so annoying. She didn't even want to take this road trip, she'd much rather just fly there. It was the logical solution. Even 16 had commented at some point they'd get there faster if they'd just fly.

18 turned to look at 16 and found him staring at her unblinking. She needed to get out of this dress!

"17 stop at the first exit with a town. I'm starting to get itchy." she commanded leaning over the front seat lazily looking at the two of them. She noticed their hands interlocked between the seats and made a gagging noise before sitting back down and folding her arms over her chest.

"Are you okay with this 16?" she asked quietly, "She's our enemy, Goku's sister, and here we are ona joyride with her. Don't you want to kill her or something?"

"She is not Son Goku. I will not fight her."

"Yeah, yeah" she huffed rolling her eyes.

Rori just giggled to herself and leaned her head on 17's shoulder. These could not be the android's Trunks had told them about. 18 was right about one thing though. They were enemies and coming closer and closer to that reality by the seconds. Rori had warned 17 that she wasn't going to help them find Goku, but if they did find him she wouldn't let them hurt her brother. They knew their time together was limited, so a little pit stop for 18 couldn't hurt right?

"You complain we're not going fast enough, but who's the one asking for all the stops?" 17 complained before taking the next exit into a small little town. It looked like something you'd find in an old western movie. He pulled over at the side what appeared to be a clothing store and smirked, "Here you are."

From the look of the outside of the shop, he'd be making fun of her again for whatever she'd choose.

While they were waiting Rori kept her head on 17's shoulder watching the town from behind the window. When she noticed a particular dress in the window she thought to herself that perhaps she should take 17 up on his advice and have a little fun with her powers.

"Hey, meet me at the bar over there in a few minutes?", she asked pointing across the street at bar with a 'saloon' sign overhead and a man in a cowboy hat and boots, smoking a cigarette outide. 17 arched his brow, not sure where she was going with this, but started to open the door anyway. She put her hand to his shoulder stopping, "Not yet... you'll know when."

With a quick peck on the cheek she hopped out of the car and went into clothing store near the car. The clerk was helping 18 find something as she insulted everything he was giving her, yet still trying them on.

"I'll be right with you, missy!" he yelled to Rori from the back of the store.

"Take your time, sir" she called back in her best western accent, trying not to giggle.

Rori walked up to the mannequin she'd seen in the shop window wearing some saloon girl's dress. This was ridiculous, did they really wear this stuff here? Slowly and quietly she slid the dress off the mannequin. She felt like a teenager trying to sneak out of her parent's house.

Rori carefully removed her own jacket, before taking a look toward the back of the store. The clerk was still occupied. Off came her shirt, but she left her short skirt and stockings on underneath. The dress was long enough, and this was her first time attempting something like this. It wasn't worth risking the time it would take to completely change. Another glance to the back of the store. Still being insulted by 18, perfect. She threw her jacket and shirt into her purse before taking one last look to the back of the shop. She felt kind of bad, but told herself if she still felt bad later she could send him a check. Rori took a deep breath booking it out of the store and running across the street, hands holding her skirts up as she made her way to the saloon.

17 had been sitting in the car, unsure of what exactly Rori had been planning, but when he saw her run across the street in that awful purple dress he couldn't help but laugh to himself.

"I'll be right back" he announced to 16, not waiting for a reply and left the car.

When Rori entered the saloon she took a deep breath, unsure herself of where she was going with this. One step at a time. The room was filled with the type of crowd you'd expect in a place like this, men thinking they were tough fighting each other, playing pool, drinking whisky. She was beginning to wonder if they hadn't stumbled upon a film set or one of those pay towns where they give you the 'real experience'. Rori pushed her way through the crowds of mostly men and figured she could at least get herself a drink.

The barkeep was stereotypically polishing his glass as she took a seat next to a man dressed in a dark vest who was threatening the guy next to him, telling him something about if he didn't pay up in the next few days he'd find another way to get the money out of him. Eventually the barkeep noticed her and came right over, "Well what can I getchya, little lady?"

"Whatever's on tap will do nicely." she answered.

"And put it on my tab" came the voice of the guy she'd previously heard threatening someone next to her. She turned to thank him and found his eyes locked on her breasts. This dress wasn't doing her any favors after all.

"What's a pretty thang like you doin' in a dive like this? Must be in a mess of trouble." he asked more her breasts than to her.

"Oh dear me, you can see right through me can't you mister" she said sarcastically placing her hand to her chest as she gasped forcing him to look up at her face for once.

"Well it's your lucky day. I'm gonna help you, but it don't come cheap." he said not getting that she was being sarcastic.

"Well gee sir I don't have much money, but perhaps we can arrange another form of payment." she decided to play along, " you see I was a dancer at a very respectable place, but now it's all turned wrong and the owner won't let me go!"

The guy laughed and shook his head, "Don't you worry. Ain't nobody a faster shooter than me. You're safe here."

The whole bar got quiet at the sound of gun fire outside. A few moments later a the doors swung open and 17 walked in wearing what appeared to be the cowboy at of the man outside and his boots, holding up his two fingers and thumb as if he was holding a gun. This got a rise of laughter out of the people in the bar. He couldn't be serious. He stood at the front of the saloon looking for her through the crowd of people. She quickly hid behind the man next to her at the bar, "that's him."

"What do you want, stranger?" the man asked confidently walking towards 17 with a clink in his shoes. That boy thought his play gun was going to save him?

"Lookin' for my girl" he answered in his best cowboy accent. It was terrible, "she ran out last night and her contract says she still belongs to me. Thought I saw her come in here... blonde...tall... a rack you wouldn't forget."

One of the men in back whistled and some laughed, but the man in front of him walked closer, not knowing what he was getting himself into, "Well I reckon I saw a young thang like that stroll in here, but she done told us quiet a different tale."

"Be careful sir, he's the fastest shooter on this here side of town!" Rori yelled out. She had no idea what she was saying and could see that 17 was trying to keep himself from laughing when he pulled his bandanna down from his face around his neck.

"Don't you worry little lady", the man in front of 17 yelled back to her, "we'll keep you safe."

The man drew his gun and went to shoot 17, but 17 was faster catching the bullet in his hand and crushing it into dust before the man. He then shot energy from his finger tips making 2 small ki blast that shot 2 bottles clear off the back shelf. 17 took a few steps closer looking the man in the eye, " Now I trust you'll let me handle my woman or are we going to have a problem?"

"No-no sir!" The man stuttered before exiting the saloon, tail between his legs.

The android made his way to the bar cornering Rori against the counter, "Well, well look what we have here."

"Do what you must but I'll never be yours!"she yelled at him turning head away from him stubbornly.

17 took her chin in his hand before putting the 'barrel of his gun' up to her face, "well I reckon I don't got a choice then."

"No!" she called out trying to look frightened, "I shouldn'ta run out on you like that I'm sorry sir, please. I'll be good."

She moved her lips to his hand sliding her tongue along the length of his fingers before sucking on them, trying to entice him, "I'll do anything"

"Geez, Rori!" 17 exclaimed wide eyed "Are you trying to get me going right here?"

"Hah! You broke character I win!" she laughed pushing him away. She set her purse on the counter before pulling the dress up over her head and put her real shirt back on.

"This time you definitely cheated!" he said picking her up into his arms leaving a very confused room of drunkards behind to go back to the car. "You realize I'm going to get you back for this"

She sighed, happily in his arms, leaning up to plant a light kiss on his neck, "I can't wait."

As they were waiting outside of the car for 18 to finish shopping, they suddenly felt some hug explosion of power in the distance. "Did a volcano explode or something?" 17 commented.

"That's..." Rori leaned against the car trying to concentrate on the energy. It couldn't be Piccolo. It felt... no it wasn't exactly him, but, "It's an someone fighting..."

The door to the back opened and 16 got out, " Indeed. It is a great battle in the distance."

"You never told us you had energy sensors, 16" 18 said as she walked out of the store with the least cowgirl clothes she could find. Well, at least it was better than the flamenca thing.

"You never asked." 16 replied. "One of the power level is a even a match for yours 17."

"Get back in the car let's go your sensors are broken." 17 laughed.

After three days in the car, the androids had finally reached their destination, Goku's house. They were still just looking for Goku, blissfully unaware of the harm cell had been causing while looking to devour them. The only problem now was that the house was emptier than they'd expected. 18 was going through Chi-chi's closet and yelling at 17 for making them take such a long trip, "Of course they're not here. It took us 3 days to get here."

"Chill out 18. We'll find them eventually." 17 said trying to calm her down.

"We're flying this time!"

Rori walked around the house, looking at pictures of Gohan as a baby, Chichi and Goku's wedding photo on one of the walls. It was so strange to be here now. She'd inadvertently cut her brother out of her life trying to steer clear of Piccolo. Then she saw it on the table. It was a box of capsules. Not just any. The one Bulma had given her in exchange for her brother's pod so long ago. Rori found herself opening it without hesitation and inside was the capsule with their little house.

She took the capsule and went outside, leaving the quarreling twins inside. She found a spot that looked like there was enough space and click. Boom! There it was. She hesitated before entering the house. Nothing had changed from the day she left, except it needed some dusting. She knew Piccolo would have never come back to their home, before her he'd been fine just sleeping under the stars. She had too most nights. Rori walked up the stairs and went into their old room. The bed was still unmade. She sighed. This was a bad idea. Why was she doing this to herself.

Better not let this go to waste, she thought to herself changing out of her normal clothes and finding some of her old training clothes in the drawers. The ones from Bulma, not Piccolo. The least she could do was change because if she was going to be fighting anytime soon, it wouldn't be in a skirt. She stood in front of the full length mirror in her old clothes. This felt right. She turned to look at her back side and then flipped her hair up. Piccolo's mark was barely there anymore. Best not reflect on that.

She came down the stairs once she finished changing and had to pass through the living room to get to the exit. Rori stopped in front of one of the shelves staring at it. On the shelf was a picture Bulma had taken of Rori and Piccolo when they'd returned from Namek. She pushed it down with a sigh and looked up to find 17 had let himself in was now watching her curiously.

"This your place?" he asked and she just nodded. He walked up to her and ran his finger through her hair, cupping her cheek. "You're mine now you know?"

"Am I?" she asked. She knew she was his in this moment, but how long was that going to last? Yes, she'd had fun playing between the lines, but this couldn't last. They'd find her brother soon enough and then what? She sighed and tried not to think of it, pulling out of his embrace as she headed for the door, "our real lives our waiting for us."

Before 17 followed her out, he couldn't help himself. He lifted the photo and took a peak. Piccolo? Wow. That he hadn't expected. He hadn't known who to expect, none of the guys he'd fought earlier had seemed good enough for her. If he'd had to have picked it might have been that purple haired one. He didn't know much about that guy, but Piccolo... no he couldn't picture it even when it was staring him in the face.

Once they were both out Rori put the house back into it's capsule form and slid it into her back pocket. Outside 16 and 18 had been waiting for them impatiently.

"Finally" 18 said with a sigh, " Now let's get going."

"You guys go on ahead, we'll be right behind you." 17 answered looking to Rori. The other androids didn't waste time and sped off in the direction of Kame House.

"Hurry we're not going to wait" 18 called before they were out of sight.

17 turned to Rori, unsure of where he wanted to start. He wasn't ready to let her go. He thought she would just be something a little distraction. And now they were here three days later way far behind what he'd planned. And he'd found he wanted to keep her, show her everything the way it should be. Get her to see the world from where he stood.

"So... when we get there-" Rori had started, but he'd cut her off his lips crashing against hers. He didn't want to hear what she was going to say anymore than she wanted to say it. Her arms involuntarily wrapped around his neck as she kissed him back with every in her. She didn't want this to end either. Just five more minutes? His hand slid down her back before she hopped up into his arms wrapping her legs around his waist. They'd kissed until there were out of breath and she leaned her forehead against his staring into his eyes, mentally asking him what they should do.

He answered her with a grin and held up something. She looked to his hand. It was the capsule containing her house. He reached back and threw it as far as he could.

"What are you doing?!" She asked confused, but couldn't wait around for an answer and chased it down. 17 smirked. It was probably very far away and in a spot she couldn't find by now. That would give him enough to get a head start. If he was lucky he'd have Goku dead before she even got there. Problem solved, he thought to himself and took off towards Kame House.

At Kame House, everything was quiet. Piccolo was watching the latest news reports in search of Cell. The others were all asleep infront of the tv. It had been a long few days. If they didn't find Cell or the androids soon, who knew what could happen. Piccolo wasn't ready to have another transformation situation on his hands like they'd had with Freeza on Namek. As of now, he was strong enough to kill Cell and possibly the androids if he could just find them.

Outside there was a noise. Piccolo rushed to the door only to find the androids on their door step. He couldn't tell his this was his lucky day or his worst day in history.

"Yo!" 17 called over to him, "So, is Son Goku here?"

Piccolo grumbled and turned to the others still peacefully sleeping, "Wake up! We've got company!"

"He isn't here." 16 said as he scanned the area.

"Hey green bean, mind telling us where he is?" 17 couldn't resist getting a jab in now that he knew this was the guy Rori had been so lost over. This was going to be fun. 17 had found his new game for the time being.

"You think we'd really tell you?" Piccolo growled. These androids were unbelievable.

"Well I was hoping I'd have to make you." the male android said with a grin.

"I'd love to see you try. There's an uninhabited island not far from here. We'll do it there." Piccolo countered and hovered off the ground before turning the the rest of the fighters, "no one follow, you'll just get in the way!"

Piccolo and the androids flew over to the island and touched down. He began taking off his weighted training gear when he noticed the male android was watching him with a strange look on his face. The other two androids appeared to not care at all, but there was something to this one.

"This time if you don't give me the information I want, I will kill you."

Piccolo stared back at the android a bit confused, "you're fighting me alone?"

"Of course, there's no way you could beat me let alone all of us." he responded. Piccolo grinned at this and 17 spread his arms out waiting, "Well? come at me!"

Before Piccolo could moved a muscle, 17 went down. Rori was now standing where the android was with her hand still up after having landed a punch to 17's face. "You son of bitch! What the hell were you thinking?!"

17 got back up and she went to hit him again, but this time he was prepared and caught her wrist. Instead of punching her though, he pulled her in by her wrist, his other arm wrapping around her and kissed her roughly. Rori was furious, but to Piccolo's surprised she kissed him back, before she broke the kiss, "No! This has to stop!"

"Does it?" 17 asked arching his brow.

Piccolo wasn't sure what he was witnessing, but no he was pretty sure this wasn't happening and he must be back at Kame House asleep because this was his nightmare.


	16. Over and Over

Yes, that's right this must be a nightmare. Piccolo had just witnessed his mate, no former mate, reciprocating a kiss from one of the androids that was responsible for destroying the future. Even though she ended up pushing the android away with a look of anger, he knew that look. He'd been on the end of it before. It meant she was furious, but something else. Did it mean the same towards 17? He'd never seen her give this look to anyone other than him before.

"This has to stop!" She said taking a step back from the android.

17 closed the space between them, giving her a mischevious look, "does it?"

Piccolo watched as 17 reached out for her about to pull her back to him. Rori hesitated, but slapped his hand away none the less, "Yes, it does!"

The Namekian tried his best to make sense out of what was going on. Why would she accept a kiss from that android? This had not been his plan for her ... he didn't have time for this. The androids needed to be destroyed before it was too late. Piccolo cleared his throat and the two turned to him.

At the sound of his voice Rori's face turned bright red, her body now facing him, but she was looking to the side in embarrassment. She hadn't seen Piccolo in almost three years and she had let her guard down with 17, letting him make a little show out of this for his amusement. Of course Rori knew Piccolo was there, Yamcha had told her the androids had flown to a nearby island with Piccolo to fight him. In her head she had planned on just landing a few punches to get out her frustration, before letting them continue their fight. Yet, 17 had surprised her and caught her off guard.

"I don't know what you two are arguing about... and honestly I don't care... We don't have time for this...Rori, get out of my way so I can get rid of him" Piccolo scoffed. He had been almost excited to try out his new powers on the androids and take them down. Surprise them with his power and end this before something got out of hand, but now he was just angry. _Irrationally angry,_ Kami corrected in his head. _You let her go Piccolo. You can't be mad at her for living her life._

_I didn't ask for your opinnion old man. And she was supposed to live her life with... I don't know Trunks... or Yamcha... someone who could give her what I can't and here she is with a damn android, that's trying to kill her brother!_ Piccolo raged in response to the elder namekian.

_She does appear to have a type, huh?_ Nail responded smugly.

_ENOUGH!_ Piccolo's voice boomed in his head over the other two as he powered up causing there to be silence once again.

17 chuckled as he watched the Namekian power up in what appeared to be a rage. He couldn't blame the guy. While 17 wasn't 100 percent sure what had gone on between the Namekian and Rori, he knew how he would feel if he were on the other end. _Too bad for him there's no way he can win. I almost feel sorry for the guy._ 17 thought to himself shaking his head, "So eager to die."

Rori lifted her head when Piccolo began to power up. She looked into his eyes and furrowed her brow. This didn't feel right. Was this really Piccolo? It couldn't be the one she knew, something was different. His power was insane. She had a bad feeling about this. Yes, they were supposed to destroy the androids, but if Goku had healed as Yamcha said that might mean that no one had to die. These androids, weren't the terrible beings Trunks had talked about. They couldn't be. 16 and 18, she could almost call them friends at this point and 17... well...

Something was off, and 17 was being cocky as usual. Rori had never seen the android actually fight, but she knew Piccolo wouldn't go into a battle he knew he couldn't win unless it was to protect Gohan or someone he loved. And since that no longer included her, Piccolo must have a plan. Rori looked to the android next to her biting her lip, "...17...be careful..."

It appeared Piccolo was done powering up, but 17 wasn't concerned, " Don't worry so much. Piccolo's no match for me anyway. You should have seen how badly I beat him last time!"

"That's not Piccolo" 16 called out.

"What?" both Rori and 17 questioned, but it was too late. Piccolo had already charged at 17 sending him flying back into a boulder. Rori barely saw Piccolo move. Just a green gust of wind that flew past her, taking 17 with it. The Namekian didn't let up or wait for the android to gain any composure. He was out for blood.

Piccolo stood above 17 as he started to get up off the ground, but the namekian sent a large ki blast creating a large hole where the android had been. Piccolo knew it wasn't going to be that easy. His eyes flicked up to find 17 hovering in the air above him. With a smirk Piccolo sent blast after blast of energy blast in the air all around the android. At first, 17 just laughed to himself thinking the Namekian was missing him.

"17!" Rori yelled up at him. The android furrowed his brow before he looked around him to find he was surrounded, his eyes widening.

"Now you have no where to go!" Piccolo chuckled before slamming his arms together causing the blasts to advance on 17 exploding, "Die!"

Rori had never seen Piccolo so quick to the draw. He was much stronger than she remembered, but that wasn't it. It was obvious that he wanted this to over as quickly as possible, but why? As all the ki blast came together to explode, Rori was staring at Piccolo in shock, forgetting completely about getting out of the way.

Piccolo looked over and noticed her. _Dammit,_ he thought and was about to go in and grab her, but 16 beat him to the chase taking her by the wrist and pulling her into a hover over the water with 18.

"You're lost in your thoughts, Rori. Now's not the time." 16 said before releasing her.

"Yeah..." she nodded her eyes still wide before thanking the red haired android. Rori turned her attention to where 17 was to find that there was barely a scratch on him as he was covered in a force field. She sighed with relief, but at the same time she was becoming worried about how strong 17 was and maybe even Piccolo. She could see now why Trunks had been so worried over the androids. If 17 could survive that kind of attack, she wondered what might happen if she ever got on his bad side.

"Hey you almost had me! Not bad!" 17 yelled down in amusement, "But you destroyed the island. Not cool. Let's find somewhere else."

They all flew until they found a big enough uninhabited island. Even though Piccolo's strength was amazing, 17 was still pretty cocky about having escaped the last blast and felt like taunting the Namekian some more.

"So ready to tell me where Goku is?" the android asked Piccolo in a friendly voice.

"You want to kill Goku, why would I tell you where he is?" Piccolo spat.

"Then I'll just have to get serious." 17 countered as they two began fighting again. This time 17 was keeping up and even seemed faster than Piccolo.

"You may be fast, but you're attack is lacking" Piccolo said with a smirk after they'd paused for a moment. This only made the android angry and the two began to go back at it.

18 looked to Rori, "So who is this guy if not Piccolo? Piccolo couldn't beat us a few days ago, so 16 must be right, that can't be him."

Rori shook her head, "I don't know... He's Piccolo... but something's changed. The last time he improved that much he fused with Nail... oh no... he didn't! 16? Your sensors are pretty wide range right?"

"They are." the red haired giant answered.

"Can you sense Kami's energy anywhere?"

16 remained silent for a minute before answering, "I sense him here... with Piccolo"

This couldn't be right. She knew how Piccolo felt about Kami. Yes, Piccolo had changed quite a bit over the years, but she wouldn't think he would fuse with the righteous Kami. No, that was just too wrong. Why was Piccolo so desperate?

The two had stopped fighting again and 17 laughed before wiping a bit of sweat from his forhead, "Not bad, but this won't last long."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Piccolo said looking as if he was ready to go again.

"Even if we're evenly matched, my stamina is infitine. I'll out last you everytime." 17 smirked and couldn't help but add one little jab in at the end, "just ask Rori."

The rage built back up in Piccolo again. He knew he was playing into 17's hand by getting angry, but that was the last straw. He had to get rid of the android before- Piccolo's eyes widened. It was too late, " Cell!"

Piccolo turned toward Cell causing Rori the other androids to follow his lead.

"What is that thing?" 17 called out confused. Why did everyone alway interrupt him when he was having fun.

"Ew... I don't know it looks like a giant bug... gross" Rori said cringing before she decided to ask, it appeared Piccolo had some idea, " Piccolo what is that thi-"

As Rori called out, Cell powered up showing his massive power level. It felt even stronger than what she'd felt from Piccolo just a few moments ago. How did everyone get this strong? It was insane, but it wasn't just his power. His energy felt familiar, it felt like Goku, Vegeta, Piccolo, and Freeza were all here. She watched as the monster walked past Piccolo, heading for 17.

" How many innocent lives did you take? " Piccolo managed to breath out as Cell passed him.

"Oh Piccolo, they should be flattered to be part of greatness" Cell answered chuckling to himself as he approached 17.

"Ewww it looks even uglier up close, I hate bugs..." Rori said still cringing at it. She couldn't tell if she was more put off by its energy or its appearance.

"We'll see how you feel about me when I'm perfect" Cell called out before turning to 17, "This should only take a few minutes."

"We're kind of in the middle of something, so if you wouldn't mind getting in line after Piccolo-" 17 started but was cut off by Piccolo.

"17 get out of here he's going to try to absorb you!"

In an instant the bug like android let it's tail swing around and charged at 17. It's tail was looking for any angle to try and absorb him, and finally he flipped 17 to the ground and almost had a clear shot, until Piccolo knocked Cell off of him.

17 stood up brushing the dirt off him and growled, "what'd you say this things trying to do?"

"In short, he was created by Dr. Gero's computer out of our DNA. He won't be completed until he's absorbed both you and 18." Piccolo answered.

"Seriously, how many androids are there? Trunks said 2 and so far I see 4." Rori said shaking her head completely thrown off. She already knew something was wrong when she met 16, but now Cell.

"Actually this makes 6, but you'd know that if you hadn't been off making friends with 3 of them." Piccolo countered. If Rori wasn't sure before, now she was certain Piccolo was upset about her and 17.

Cell cleared his throat. "Brother and sister... I'd hoped you'd come willingly to be apart of perfection. Once we are one, we will become the perfect warrior, just as Dr. Gero had planned."

"Yeah, no way." 17 shouted.

"Same! I actually agree with Rori, that thing is gross. There's no way I'd become part of that." 18 called from the sidelines.

"Besides, you're already looking at the ultimate warrior", 17 smirked pointing to himself, "but it looks like you need a demonstration."

16 finally decided to speak up, "17 you must run, this thing is much stronger than you. You will not win. If it becomes complete it will destroy not only this planet but whatever it touches."

And those were the magic words to get 17 to do the exact opposite. No one was stronger than 17 in his mind. How dare 16 try tell him to run. He wasn't a coward.

17 and Piccolo fought the monster for some time and yet everytime it looked as though they had gotten a hit on it, Cell was still ready for more.

"Ugh, men. They should stop playing with their food and just eat it already" 18 scoffed before she flipped her hair and took a seat.

"18... I can't tell if 17 is messing around, but Piccolo isn't" Rori countered with a worried look.

"17 is not playing with Cell." 16 answered before he looked to 18, "you must leave now before it is too late."

There was a loud explosion and Rori looked over to see that Cell had just sent a blast right to Piccolo's core, before tossing him in the ocean.

Rori felt a heat rising in her and she tried her best to push it down. She was going to burn up again, she could feel it. Her eyes moved to 17 and she remembered that he was still there, she had to do something. She had to make sure he wasn't absorbed. And so she stopped trying to push down the fire and just let them take over her.

It was as if a burning sensation made its way up her body, licking at her skin from her toes all the way to her head. She could feel the energy coursing through her. This time instead of trying to control her rage, she just let it lead her.

Cell had used this and Piccolo's death as a distraction. By the time she had transformed, Cell had beat down 17 and was in the middle of absorbing 17. 17 hands pryed at the sides of Cell's funnel like tail trying to keep it from him, but to his luck he didn't have to. 16 Pulled 17 out of the way and Rori threw an engery blast to cut Cell's tail off.

17 looked up astonished at both 16 and Rori. He remembered Rori telling him that she wouldn't become a super phoenix ever again. She thought it was too risky. This bug thing must be for real. 17 still never understood why Dr. Gero hadn't given him energy sensors like he had with 16. Maybe because they wouldn't work. Now 16 seemed to think he was strong enough to fight this thing. If 16 really was stronger than him then Dr. Gero wouldn't have made 17 and 18, right?

"16 you can't fight this thing." 17 shook his head, "Neither of you can. "

"I've calculated my power is equal to Cell's" 16 smirked to the android, " and so is hers. Cell is not trying to absorb us. You and 18 should get out of here while you can."

While 16 tried to get the other androids to leave, Rori was in the midst of fighting Cell. She had been so surpised by 17 and Picoolo's energies,yet she hadn't known her own. Sure she had still trained over the past three years, but she hadn' actually fought anyone and she definitely hadn't given in to any anger. Boy did it feel good to really fight again. She found that her almost lucid state of rage was like an old friend, now that she could let go completely. She threw the creature to the ground and smirked at it from above, "Is that it?"

"If you'd just let me absorb them, I'd be much more of a challenge" Cell yelled before he flew up landing a punch on her. He was no longer playing around.

Despite her being a super phoenix she hadn't trained in this form like Vegeta or Goku. It made her sloppy. Cell could easily predict her moves. Now that he'd figured this out he began to toy with her, catching her next jab with his tail freshly grown back, encircling her arm, "I thought you were afraid to touch the slimy bug?"

"Touching is different from squashing" she countered before 16 flew up knocking her from Cell's grip and took her place in battle. Unlike her, 16 was actually making some headway with the creature. Cell had tried to absorb 16, but to Cell's suprise, "Completely mechanical... that won't do."

"How'd he get his tail back?" 17 questioned.

"He has Piccolo's DNA" Rori muttered. This only made her more angry causing her energy to blaze up. This thing was taking advantage of the cells from Piccolo after tossing him to the side like he was nothing, "We'll have to kill him."

"You're not strong enough for that, my dear" Cell called out to her in a way that reminded her too much of Freeza.

"We won't know until we try." 16 answered before charging at Cell, followed by Rori.

On the sidelines the two twin androids were watching in shock. 17 thought he'd never see 16 in a fight unless it was with Goku, but here he was trying to defend them. His eyes moved over to Rori. He was a bit sad now he hadn't gotten a chance to fight her at full strength. Once they finished this Cell, she'd be too tired. She didn't have the unlimited energy as he did.

"17" his sister called in a worried tone pulling him out of his thoughts, "we should get out of here."

"What are you talking about. Don't be a scaredy cat." he looked back to the others fighting, "they've got him on the ropes. Nothing to worry about now. Just look!"

16 had thrown Cell so hard to the ground he'd made a crater and followed that up with a huge blast from his gun like arms causing beams of energy to explode up from the ground all around them.

"Amazing, 16!" 17 yelled over, followed by a cheer from 18.

"Why are you two still here?!" Rori called down from the sky while trying to locate Cell under the ground, "We're barely keeping him down if he gets one of you it's over!"

"What? no way. It tried to kill me, I want some pay back." 17 shook his head before turning to the red haired android, "Where is it? I'll finish it now."

_No wonder Piccolo wanted them dead quickly._ she thought to herself as her eyes scanned the ground for any sign of movement.

"Come on out, you ugly pest" 17 taunted. And come out it did. Right behind him before swallowing him whole with his tail in a matter of seconds.

"17" both Rori and 18 screamed trying to warn him. It was already too late. The transformation had begun.

Luckily the transformation took some time and 16 managed to get 18 off of the island to find a hiding place. Rori on the other hand stayed put and just watched. It was like Namek all over again, but this time she wouldn't be pulled out of it. Maybe she wasn't strong enough to defeat Cell, but she could buy some time.

As soon as it was transformed, Cell flew right past her in order to stop the androids from leaving, but she wasn't through with him. Not by a long shot. She reached out grabbing him by his tail, which he hadn't expected. He stopped and stared at her.

"Trust me you don't want to get between me and the last android" he spoke in his new deeper voice. Being this close to Cell she noticed he gave off the same kind of scent that Vegeta did the last time she was a phoenix.

"I'm going to let you in on a little secret Cell" she responded not letting him go, "You may be able to beat me, but even if you do absorb her, you won't be as strong as you think."

Despite her efforts, Cell was not going to miss this opportunity to catch 18. He released a large fatal blast sending Rori back plummeting to the ground. From there things went black. She felt the fire still surrounding her, but she couldn't continue. Her eyes went in and out of focus seeing what looked like Tian trying his best to keep Cell down. Darkness again. Her skin went cold and it felt like she was being carried, but she couldn't open her eyes. Then rumbling, what felt like the ground shaking. Silence. Then nothing.

* * *

Under lidded eyes the darkness faded and it became bright again. Rori clenched her eyes shut and noticed she didn't feel anymore pain. In fact, she felt great, as if she was completely healed up. She could hear some shouting and fighting in the distance and almost didn't dare open her eyes to see what was going on. She felt some arms tighten around her and a man's voice calling her to wake up, "Rori? Wake up."

Her eyes opened to find a pair of dark eyes staring right back down at her. Almost a little too close for comfort. When her eyes finally focused she recognized Yamcha hovering over her with a concerned look in his eyes. Rori sat up in his arms, looking around her. She was still on an island… not the same one she'd been on before though.

For a long moment they sat there in the grass not saying a word. She could feel Trunk fighting an enormous power in the distance. Senzu beans were great, but being pulled out of the darkness while the action was still going on left her in a dazed and confused state.

"Rori" Yamcha started again, worried when she hadn't said anything, "Are you ok?"

It then hit her suddenly. She had become a super phoenix again. Was she still one? She didn't feel the flames anymore, but she remembered everything before she blacked out unlike the last time.

"Yamcha! What do I look like?" she asked turning to him suddenly, her eyes wide.

"Rori… I don't think now's the time to be concerned with your looks" he laughed astonished that she cared about that, "such a model..."

"No… I mean..." she pulled her hair forward and noticed the golden color to it, " I changed back..."

"Oh, well yeah" he replied sheepishly.

They felt another explosion in the background. That's right the fight wasn't over yet. "Mind filling me in?"

Yamcha sighed. This might take a while. He told her how the androids had changed from the future. There hadn't been time to explain that earlier. Then how Tian saved the day at the risk of his life. Luckily Goku had managed to get him and Piccolo back safely to lookout. They'd all had their Senzu beans and were doing fine. Trunks and Vegeta had been training in the hyperbolic time chamber, apparenlty where they could train a whole year in one day's time. That who was currently fighting Cell.

"Goku asked me to come down and give you a Senzu before him and Gohan went into the time chamber." Yamcha finished.

Rori's brow furrowed. The last she remembered she was knocked out in the same spot as Piccolo and Tian. Why hadn't Goku taken her too?

"Goku...He left me?" she asked a bit taken back. Not that she would blame him. She hadn't been there with them to train or even to visit in the last three years. It still hurt though.

"No, he was going to take you too, but he could only carry the two of them. When he came back to get you Cell had already taken you with him. He laid you over here while he was trying to find 18." Yamcha reassured her and then laughed trying to make light of it, "That's why he had me wait until Vegeta and Trunks were here to distract him."

"Cell moved me? He's the one who knocked me out though" She looked into the distance where Cell was still fighting Trunks.

"We think he was trying to use you as bait to lure Goku out before he was ready" Yamcha added shrugging his shoulders, "who knows what that creep was thinking, but it should be over soon. I mean, wow they got real strong. It wasn't even worth it for the rest of us to train."

Rori stood up finally brushing herself off. She had some holes in her clothes but nothing too bad. It seemed like they were in better shape than she was. She'd have to thank Bulma again for the training gear. "Well, let go have a look then?"

Yamcha's eyes widdened, "what are you crazy?"

"You said it yourself. It should be over soon" Rori said not waiting for him to answer as she flew over toward the island where Cell and Trunks were fighting.

_Why am I always after girls that have a death wish,_ Yamcha thought to himself but followed her nonetheless.

When they arrived on the scene, things were much different than they had expected. Vegeta was completely unconscious with Krillin at his side and Trunks was no longer a super saiyan. He was just standing like a statue before Cell. Who had changed much from the last time she'd seen him. That must have meant he'd absorbed 18. But why wasn't Trunks fighting? She always seemed to be one step behind.

"Trunks? What's going on?" She asked as she landed next to him.

"He's given up. He was no match for perfection" It was Cell who answered her with a smirk before walking up to the two of them, head straight up, chest puffed out towering over her trying to intimidate her. Proud as a peacock, "Well? What do you think of the ugly bug now?"

Rori thought about biting her tongue. She couldn't beat him in his other forms, how could she possibly plan to beat him now in his final form? Yet the words came out anyway. "You've still no chance against Goku."

"Is that so?" he answered, almost intrigued by her arguement, " the kid says you could all get much stronger just like he did. I want to put that to the test. I'll give you some time. 10 days. Get as strong as you can. I'm going to have tournament. You'll all have your chance to defeat me."

Rori furrowed her brow, "Why are you doing this? You could obviously finish us now"

"Maybe don't remind him!" Krillin called out from behind her.

Cell leaned down so he was eye level with her and smirked, "The game's not worth playing if it's too easy."

Rori's eyes widdened. Was 17 still in there somewhere? He couldn't be. The damn bug was messing with her head.

Cell stood up and laughed, pleased with the reaction he'd gotten from her before turning to Trunks, "Or maybe I just want to see your faces when there's no sign of hope left in them. Like Junior over here."

And with one wave of his hand, Cell flew off leaving them all confused.

While Krillin was helping Vegeta with a Senzu, Rori took this opportunity to interogate Trunks a bit. When she'd arrived he looked completely devistated.

"Trunks even after you surpassed Vegeta... how did this happen?" she could tell he was strong enough to beat Cell and yet...

"What?!" Trunks laughed this off shaking his head and laughing as if she were crazy, "why would you think that?"

"Vegeta never told you anything about the phoenix or saiyans did he?" she asked her brows raised.

"...No..." Trunks answered carefully.

The last time she was around him she hadn't remembered anything from being a phoenix, but she did remember that strange scent he had. Now that she remembered being a phoenix, she knew what it was. She moved her face in next to his neck inhaling his scent deeply. "Trunks I can smell it on you. You can't keep it a secret from me. Saiyans give off a scent depending on their strength around others. It's pretty discrete, but it's there. As a phoneix I think I can sense it better... That's probably how we find the strongest mate. "

Now his face was a bright shade of red, "wait you mean-"

She laughed at this and cut him off, "No, no! I'm just saying I can tell is all. How could you lose to Cell?"

Trunks sighed, not that he wasn't be flattered. "I hadn't trained that form enough. I was too slow. Even though I was stronger than him it didn't matter... How could I have been so stupid?"

"Well... now we have another shot. Don't let it go to waste." she smiled patting his shoulder trying to get him out of his bad mood. "Look on the bright side. We have a second chance! You won't waste it."

He nodded. The fight was long from over.

* * *

They all re grouped outside of the time chamber at the lookout waiting for Goku and Gohan to come out. Some had been there longer than others. Piccolo had been waiting for quite some time after he'd recovered. When he'd realized that Goku didn't plan to go back to get Rori he'd almost gone down there himself, but Goku had stopped him, telling him it was too risky and it didn't look like Cell was planning on harming her any time soon. He was too occupied with getting 18. While Goku had a point, he still couldn't leave her. He had flown off the lookout with her Senzu bean in hand. If Goku wouldn't bring it to her, he'd do it himself.  _Hmph, some brother he is,_ he thought to himself. Half way down he started to change his mind. He sensed Trunks and Vegeta on the way. Piccolo only planned on seeing Rori if he had to. No need to make things more complicated than they were. Or risk her figuring out he still loved her, even if she still loved him at this point, it didn't matter. He still couldn't give her the life she deserved. So new plan. He flew down to Kame house and gave the Senzu to Yamcha.

"Just tell her Goku gave it to you." Piccolo said without waiting for a response before heading back to the look out. He'd waited there, sensing the battle with Cell and Trunks. It wasn't long before they'd arrived too and were all eager awaiting Goku and Gohan. It had appeared Yamcha had listened to her as Rori had no idea where the Senzu came from.  
As they waited Rori was sitting next to Trunks, far enough away from the others to not be overheard, asking him questions about the future.

"Gohan lost an arm...? Yeah they're really not the same androids here. So...you said everyone dies fighting the androids?"

"Well not everyone. I mean Goku died from the heart virus." Trunks answered.

"Ah, so everyone but Goku." she corrected.

Trunks was silent.

"Someone else?"

"Maybe one more..."

"Who is that?"

"...well I guess this timeline's changed so it couldn't hurt to tell you... You never showed up to fight the androids in my time either."

"Ah... I was avoiding Piccolo I guess..." she said to herself shaking her head, " but I didn't show up after?"

"My mom told me sometime after Goku got the heart virus and died you left the planet. She tried to contact you but something happened to your ship. You could be alive, we're not sure."

"Oh..." was all she could answer. She couldn't just leave it on that, "So... Chichi _really_ let Gohan train you when he had only one arm?"

As Piccolo listened to them he'd forgotten how tiresome she could be sometimes when she was stuck on a subject.

_You mean cute,_ Nail countered in his head.

_No one asked you_ Piccolo scoffed.

_Just saying, if it's so annoying then why are you still listening to them._

He didn't have an answer.

After a while they started to figure out the time schedule for who would go in the time chamber: when and with whom. Eventually they'd come to the conclusion of Trunks and Vegeta going in after Piccolo and Rori, but they hit a few road bumps along the way.

"I'll go in with Vegeta" Piccolo was the first to comment. If Vegeta and Trunks went in together that would only leave Rori and him. It was way more efficient to train with someone else than it was alone, but he wasn't ready to spend a year alone with her.

"Hah, please! I'd be better off going in alone." Vegeta scoffed and turned to Piccolo, "Don't get me involved in the little avoidence game you two are playing. I've got enough problems of my own with the woman and kid."

"Fine, Then we'll go in alone, but don't forget I'm the first one in."

Once Goku and Gohan came out still super saiyans as if it was their natural form, Piccolo changed his mind internally. The super saiyans left the lookout and everyone was in awe of their new strength. Piccolo couldn't even sense their energy, which made no sense because they were in their powered up form.

Rori had grown in the three years more than she'd realized, but even from afar Piccolo saw it. If he wanted to put his time to the best use it would be getting her to where her brother was, not training himself. Finally, Piccolo entered the time chamber, but just before closing the door he called out to her, "Rori. You're coming too."

Rori looked back to him her brow furrowed, but she followed nonetheless.

From the second they entered the time chamber the two got right down to business thanks to Piccolo. It could have been awkward, but even with a year, they still didn't have time for that. Before Rori had even a second to ask him any questions, he'd told her his plan for their year in the chamber. He had thought it out much like he had with when he first trained Gohan.

"So you haven't transformed over the three years since goku came back?" Piccolo asked though he already knew the answer.

"Yes, I have!" Rori argued defiantly.

"Not including yesterday with Cell." he grumbled.

"Oh... well then no..." she pursed her lips.

"But you've continued the mediations?" he asked, partially curious for training purposes, the other part more for personal reasons. To see if he still had some power over her after all this time. Rori hated meditations but she always did it for him anyway.

"Yeah... I thought with the androids... I might need to eventually..."

"Good. So every day you'll practice that. Going super phoenix and then back. Eventually you'll have to stay in that form even when your on a rest day, but we'll start out easy so you'll have confidence in changing back."

_He's not worried about me, is he?_ she thought to herself, but wouldn't ask. He already seemed uncomfortable to be there with her. He wouldn't look into her eyes when he spoke but for a few seconds. Almost as if it hurt to look at her. She wasn't sure what she'd ever done to make him hate her so much, but she wished she could take it back.

* * *

They were coming up on the home stretch. Just a little over a month left in the time chamber. Rori has followed Piccolo's orders and tried not to bother him, keeping mostly to herself when they weren't training. Initially it had been hard for her, the gravity she was used to, but the dense air really got to her. She wondered if it had the same effect on Piccolo, but if it did she couldn't tell. She had gotten to the point where she could stay in her super phoenix form without a problem and even stay in the right frame of mind. At first it had been difficult. She'd come out of the form for a minute here and there just to reassure herself that she still could, but now she was so conscious in it that sometimes she forgot until she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror.

Now that she was more conscious in this form she started picking up on things in the last months that she just hadn't when they had first started training. She was too focused on the training to notice, but now she noticed every strange move that Piccolo seemed to make. All the times he wouldn't look her in the eyes. All the times there hands came close to touching when doing something and how quickly he would pull away. At first she had thought it was hate, but she couldn't be sure. Then she remembered he'd acted the same way around her when they'd first met. He'd acted as the though he wanted nothing to do with her then and yet she'd found out when she went into heat that was the furthest thing from the truth. Too bad now that she was technically his mate, that would never happen again so she'd have no way to find out. Once she'd found a mate she never had to go on that strange hormonal rollercoaster again.

The two were sparring as normal today. Rori was in her phoenix form and she was for the most part much more than Piccolo could handle now. Piccolo was on his toes now and looking for any opportunity to take her down. With only one month left, Rori decided to take advantage of that and finally find out what all of his strange behavior meant.

Piccolo found and opening in their battle, one that she'd left him to see if he'd let himself get that close to her. He was so wrapped up in the fight that he did. His arms wrapped around her over hers locking her into a hold against him so she couldn't move her arms.

"What did I say about leaving yourself open like that?" he scolded with a smirk as if proud of himself that he'd bested her. It wasn't until he realized how truely close their faces were that he let her go quickly, pushing her away as if she'd burnt him.

Rori lowered her arms from her fighting stance and just stared at him for the longest time as if trying to figure something out. Finally Piccolo couldn't take the silence anymore, "What are you doing?"

"Piccolo..." she moved in biting her lower lip as she came to her conclusion, "You still love me... Why are you doing this?"

He didn't know how to respond to that. He could deny it, but she was right. Even if she was right, that didn't change things and he couldn't bring himself to tell her why. It was pride mixed with shame the he wasn't really worthy of being her mate. She would want him anyway, but that didn't make things better. So he didn't deny it, he just did what he knew best and pushed her away again. "That's enough for today go take your rest day."

Again, he wouldn't look at her in the eyes, he began to head back to go meditate, but when he looked up he realized that she hadnt budged. She was in the same spot watching him her arms now crossed.

"You can push me away all you want Piccolo, but I want you to know I'm not going anywhere." she started unwavering, she should have done this a long time ago, but she was too afraid that he really didn't love her anymore. Now that she knew she couldn't let it go, "I promised you a long time ago that I'd be your mate and by your side even when you still had plans to ruin this world. Whatever it is you're not telling me, when you're ready I'll be there."

He laughed at this, "so that's what loyalty looks like, huh? Joyriding around with the androids? Kissing one in front of me?"

"You pushed me away! I've been trying for three years to stop loving you and I can't. 17 distracted me but he never once made me forget that I'm yours no matter how hard he, or I for that matter, tried. So now I know for sure and you do too. I'll always be yours, whenever you decide to come for me."

Rori sighed letting out all her frustration and saw that he wasn't going to budge. She turned dropping her arms to her sides and headed back to the housing unit, "I'll take my rest day now..."

When she got to the housing wing she made a beeline straight for the bath and took a long soak amongst the bubbles. If there was one thing she really liked about this planet it was their nice baths and soaps. They always tooks some of the stress out of the situation. Yet, today they didn't seem to help as much as she'd hoped. Her mind kept wandering. The hardest part of this place should be the training and yet it was spending all this time with Piccolo that was the hard part. She kept racking her brain to remember if something had changed in their relationship before they broke up, but things were all pretty typical.

As she mulled it over she watched as the heat from her transformed body started making the water steam. _This training had better be worth it_ , she thought to herself as the bath water went down quicker than usual with some of it evaporating.

Rori stood up and started to dry off, bending over her legs with her towel.

eh-hermmm , she stood as she heard Piccolo clearing his voice from the doorway to get her attention.

Again there were no words, just and exchange of looks as Piccolo put his thoughts together again. She stood before him completely naked and apparently unashamed. Then again why should she be he'd seen her naked before. It'd had been so long since he'd seen her like this it was almost like the first time. Everything he'd thought of to say before suddenly escaped him as he stared at her. Doing the only thing he could think of he closed the space between them and pulled her into a kiss.

When Piccolo pulled back he realized that he was looking at dark ashen eyes and shook his head. This wasn't right, "Can you umm... come out of that?"

"Oh yeah" she nodded having forgetten and closed her eyes to concentrate as her hair turned back to its normal golden color. The eyes that looked back at him when she opened them were now the familar greenish blue that he'd fallen for so long ago.

When she smiled at him he felt a sinking feeling. He didn't want to hurt her more, but it was for the best that spoke his mind now. He couldn't give her his reasons. He was still to proud, but he could give her himself for now at least, "You're right about everything, but that doesn't change this. We can't be together except for here and now. If we survive this, you have to find someone else. I'm not a saiyan and I'm not even human. This won't last. I'm not meant for this. So if you agree to that, then we can at least have now."

While Rori was more confused now than ever, she heard the one thing she really wanted to hear. She could have him. Maybe not forever, but she could. The rest she'd figure out later. She didn't answer and just lifted her arms over his head and around his neck while hopping up into his arms and pulling him into another kiss. Piccolo carried her into the bedroom as she started pulling off his clothes, setting her down only for a second so he could step out of them.

She had forgotten how small she felt compared to him as he laid her on the bed and towered over her. His hands found their path sliding their way up her sides to her breast then back down to her legs pulling them over his shoulders, kissing a trail down one of her thighs. He wasted no time and slid himself all the way home, letting his eyes close as he felt her walls tigheten around him.

Rori hadn't been ready for him, but she didn't want to wait either. She ran her fingers up his chest as he watched his green member invading her tanned flesh with every move of his hips finding the perfect angle. She encouraged him, rolling her hips before letting her legs down from his shoulders and wrapping them around his back, pulling him as close as possible, feeling his body almost crush hers in the very best way.

It didn't take long for Rori to come apart as she felt the friction between them against her center. Piccolo pulled back leaning his forhead on hers, watching the look on her face as she fell apart in his arms, slowing his pace to give her a moment to breath before he continued bringing her over the edge again shortly after the first time. He revelled in the power he felt making her come apart so easily. She was one of the most powerful fighters in the world, but in his arms she completely his. When he'd given up on his plan to bring the world to its knees it had mostly been due to Gohan, but there was more to it. He had also found more pleasure in bring the sister of his enemy to her knees, knowing that she was completely and willingly his than he ever would in destroying humanity.

His nails dug down her sides coming to her hips to hold them in places as he finally came bringing her with him one last time. They both panted as he lay ontop of her, his head just over her breast, her arms wrapped around him, making little patterns on his back with her finger tips.

"Sorry that didn't last as long as with your infinite battery powered sex toy" Piccolo laughed to himself as he rolled over staring up at the ceiling. He could joke about it knowing there was no way 17 ever could have compared to him after watching her come so hard.

"What?" Rori asked confused, "You mean 17? He was just messing with you, Piccolo. We never did this."

He felt a little stupid now for being jealous, but he'd have to get over that eventually. Eventually she'd be with someone else and not him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hey so they're on the right path now! Who knows where that will lead. Anyways, thanks so much again for the reveiws. This will be coming to an end shortly. I don't know that I'll be continuing through the Buu Saga because most of the problems should be resolved by then. I may make a few one-shots after relating to some things that weren't really addressed in detail during this fic, like a little more in depth on rori and yamcha's friendship, maybe one in future trunks timeline, rori's time spent on frieza's ship, etc. if there something more you wanted from this when all is said and done ask and I might add it. :)


	17. Left Alone to Wonder

It had been a full day to the very minute. Outside the time chamber Vegeta was impatiently waiting, his foot tapping at the ground, arms crossed. He gazed at the door unmoving, as he had been for the half an hour. Trunks was seated not far from him, chin in his palms watching his father.

"You know... we have 9 more days, even if they're in there a few extra minutes, it won't be a problem." Trunks tried to calm his father.

"I don't care if it's a problem, the fact they're even in there is a waste. The Namekian will never match a sayain's strength and the Rori's barely a super phoenix. To try and catch up at this rate is just pointless." Vegeta fumed, not losing eye contact with the door, " And if they don't come out within the next five minutes I'm going to blast them out!"

Trunks decided to keep his opinions to himself, but figured that they must be doing something important if they were staying in that room any longer than necessary. From what he remembered, he didn't want to be in that room a second longer than necessary. They must have been on to something.

* * *

"That's it" Piccolo stopped in the middle of their fighting. He looked over at the hour glass. "Time's up"

Rori turned from him to the hourglass on her side with a sigh. She had both been looking forward to and regretting this moment since she'd figured out that Piccolo still had feelings for her. As long as they were in the room, she could have him, but now time was finally up. Her eyes met his and she bit her lower lip, searching her mind for something to say. Technically, she'd never really agreed to giving him up after, even though she'd consented with her body, she had never expressed any words of agreement.

"If this is really good-bye, then do you mind if we wait just a few hours?" she finally gathered up her courage to ask, "It'll only be a few seconds in the real world after all... "

Piccolo watched her, debating himself whether this was a good idea or not. He had made sure they were fighting just up to the second they had to leave so that they could avoid this whole messy process. Yet he knew his answer, it wasn't the right thing to do or a good idea. He'd always prided himself on his restraint, but he couldn't bring himself to restrain himself now. It didn't seem like a bad thing to stay just for a while longer, even though it was avoiding the inevitable. Weren't they all just avoiding their inevitable fate after all? In Trunks' future they'd all died due to the androids, but if the androids were defeated in their time, it seemed fate had created something new and greater to finish the job.

"Just an hour..." Piccolo answered dropping his arms to his side in defeat.

Rori moved in close to him, coming out of her super form and burried her head into his chest, her arms wrapped tightly around his back. She wanted to make sure she wouldn't forget anything about him from his scent to the smallest indentation on his body that she'd traced her fingers over many times over the past month, sealing the memory away.

* * *

They didn't spend their last hour together very productively, however Rori made sure to change into her super form before she left the room. As Piccolo had told her, even if she wasn't going to train every day when they left the chamber, she needed to keep herself in this form so it would become easier for her to move in the next.

Piccolo was the first to exit coming face to face with the impatient Vegeta, "Well it's about time!"

Vegeta made beeline to the door, but stopped as Rori walked out, still in her super form. "Rori? You did it too?"

"Did what?" she asked blankly.

"The same as Kakkarot" he commented, "I can't even sense your energy"

"Well I don't know if I did the same as him, but Piccolo had me meditate a lot." she answered shrugging her shoulders, "If you want to find out you'll have to fight me when you guys are done."

Vegeta smirked at this and went past her into the chamber calling behind him, "Don't get cocky kid, I am your prince after all!"

Rori just rolled her eyes and taunted back, "You may be the prince but I'm the legend! We'll see which is better when you come out."

Trunks watched his dad, giving a quick awkward hello congratulations and bye to Rori, before he left to go visit his mother in the mean time.

Rori took a deep breath. She was alone again. Piccolo had gone out to the edge of the look out, followed now by curious Mr. Popo. That feeling of a colorless world began to creep back up into her mind. 17 had made it disappear before and she'd almost forgotten it had been there while she was with Piccolo. Now that she was alone again it was starting to inch its way back into her conscious. Rori went to the other side of the lookout and hopped off the edge, unsure of where she was going to go now. She let herself free fall feet first, as her mind searched for some idea to make it disappear again. The free fall helped for a moment making her feel alive again, before an idea came to mind. She thought about how far her brother had gone with his power and flew off in the direction of his house.

On the way, she found herself on doorstep of Kame House. Whether it was because she wasn't ready to face her brother alone or just by habbit she couldn't tell, but there she was.

"Hey Turtle... Is Yamcha around?"

The turtle stared at her for the longest time, as if hoping she would leave, before calling back, " Master Roshi? There's some weird looking girl here for Yamcha!"

Rori blinked and then realized he didn't recognize her. She laughed before she bent down and patted his head to turtle's displeasure.

Within seconds Yamcha came to the door and blinked, "Oh ... Rori, you're... not going to go all crazy evil in that form, now, are you?"

"Ohhhh" Turtle exclaimed realizing who she was as she stood up and made her way towards Yamcha.

"No, I think it's actually okay now." she said with a smile that turned sinister, "but every now and then I get this voice that tells me to rip something appart.

Rori began to slowly advance in on Yamcha as he backed up, "What?!"

"Kidding" she laughed and gave him a peck on the cheek, "Honeslty, I've actually been forgetting that I'm even like this... Anyways, I'm on my way to Goku's to see how I measure up now. I thought you might want to tag along."

Yamcha paused as if to think something over before he walked out the door, "will you give us a minute, Turtle?"

"Uh.. sure.." Turtle said before slowly crawling his way up into the house. It was taking so long, the Yamcha thought it might be better if they just moved and took Rori's hand taking her to the other side of the island. He had gotten up enough courage again to finally ask her to talk and yet when he had her attention, he found himself at a loss for words.

"Is something wrong?" she asked when he hadn't started to talk, but kept her hand in his nonetheless.

"Did you... I mean... Were you..." he couldn't seem to find his words, "Tian said he saw you with one of the androids... and that you seemed to be with one of them...romantically"

The words finally spilled out. Yamcha had been thinking it over the past few days. He couldn't believe it, but he had to hear it from her if it was true. He'd been waiting for her for two years now, there was no way she could have been with the android over him.

"Oh, 17..." Rori let her hand slide out from under Yamcha's. This she hadn't been prepared for. It wasn't like she was with Yamcha, and she certaintly had told him she wasn't interested, but when he said things like that she suddenly realized how out of place her hand was in his because he thought it was something more. "...Tian was right. 17 and I had something..."

"What the hell Rori?!" he yelled. He knew he shouldn't be angry at her, but he was. She'd told him she wasn't interested over and over again, but he hadn't lost hope.

She'd given him all of her attention the past two years. Years where he'd felt kind of like an outsider in his own group. He didn't measure up to the strength of the saiyans or Piccolo. In this fight there was little he'd be able to do. He was only human, he had limits, but at least he'd had Bulma before. She had kept him feeling like he was still with them. Once things ended between him and Bulma, he'd found himself feeling like an outsider even more so. Then Rori, showed up crying and feeling alone as well. Even if it wasn't romantic, the attention she'd given him made him feel like he mattered in the group again. She was a saiyan after all and being around her made him feel like he mattered again.

He just thought, if it was going to be someone that wasn't Piccolo, it would be him. Yeah, he wasn't a saiyan or a Namekian, but as far as humans go, he was one of the strongest. He'd watched her get it hit on by all kinds of men and never accept anyone. She'd even joked to him before they she didn't think they could handle it. He was different from the other humans at the very least. How could it have been anyone else? "You said it would never be anyone again! If it wasn't Piccolo, you could never... Do you know how many girls I turned down?! I was waiting for you!"

He paused noticing how she had cast her head down. She couldn't look at him. He reached out and lifted her chin so he could look her in the eye, calming his voice. He needed an explanation, "I just... I thought if you could love again it would be me..."

Rori had a hard time meeting his eyes. She wished he had just continued to yelling at her, that she could deal with now she had to be honest, "I'm sorry Yamcha, but 17 wasn't what you think. I was with him, but not because I loved him because I didn't love him."

Yamcha backed up shaking his head. He couldn't understand, "So you didn't love him... You don't love me either. Why him? I don't get it, Rori!"

"You wouldn't understand..."

"Then help me understand it!"

She sighed, it was hard enough admitting this to herself, "Maybe I don't love you Yamcha, but I do care about you! And you don't want **that** with me, I can tell, you want me to love you back and I can't. 17 wasn't asking for me to love him back. To him I was just a challenge. He didn't want me to love him he just wanted to win. I can deal with that, but I can't love you like you love me. I can't pretend to love you, Yamcha. I care about you too much."

"but eventually that could-"

"No! I'm not going to do that to you!"

"It's not just up to you. I'm not a kid, Rori. I'm just asking for a chance, maybe it won't work, but if it doesn't I can handle it. So you don't love me now and maybe you won't ever, but I still deserve a chance!"

"God, you're so fucking stubborn! Fine is this what you want?!" She walked right up to him grabbing him by the shoulders and pulled him into a kiss. He froze under her grip, before he began to kiss her back. His hands fell over the small of her back pulling her closer. When she pulled back her eyes met his and she realized what she'd done. She hadn't hated it. It wasn't what her and Piccolo had and it didn't excite her the way 17 did, but she couldn't say that she hadn't liked it. Was this what Piccolo had wanted for her? Rori let him go and backed up, "I-uh... I-uh.. I'm going to Goku's now..."

Before she could go he grabbed her wrist holding her in place, "If you need to run away for now... think this over... fine. I know this isn't the best moment, but-"

"No" she cut him off, if this was really what Piccolo wanted for her, fine, "...alright... let's give this a trial run, but for now it's between you and me... until we're sure. "

Yamcha stared at her a bit in shock, but he wasn't going to question it. If this was the chance she was giving him, he'd take it, "I'll get my coat."

When Yamcha came back out of Kame house they both flew off towards the direction of Goku's place.


	18. Break Me Down

Back at Goku's house things seemed to be normal again, for the time being. Everyone knew that there was likely very little time for them, but no one was talking about it. It was starting to annoy Gohan. First his father said he probably couldn't defeat Cell, then he'd been told not to train for the next few days and just try to relax. _Relax_... how could he.

"Honestly Gohan, can't you change your hair back to normal for now?" his mother fussed over him running her fingers through his golden hair, "You look like a deliquent, and change out of those silly clothes."

"Hmmm", was the only response Chichi received as Gohan continued to stare at his books as if he was reading it. He wasn't. He didn't want to study. He also didn't want to change out of those "silly" clothes that Piccolo had created for him. It was his way of showing some respect to his former trainer. He knew Piccolo wasn't quite himself lately either, but he wouldn't say why. Sometimes it really sucked being a kid. He was aware of all that was going on around him, sometimes even more so than the adults were, and yet no one would explain anything to him.

"Knock, knock!" he heard a familiar voice call from outside the window and perked up in his chair. "Anyone there?"

His mother lifted one of her brows seeing this, "You stay put, Gohan. You're far behind. A whole year behind after you were in that chamber!"

Gohan slumped back in his chair as Chichi rose from the table and opened the door. Gohan watched as Rori walked in followed by Yamcha. His mother greeted them, inviting them to come sit at the kitchen bar with her because Gohan needed his concentration over at the table. They agreed and followed Chichi to the other side of the room.

His eyes met his Rori's. She gave him a sympathetic smile, but he quickly averted his gaze back down to his books as if he hadn't noticed. He knew it was cold, but he was still mad at her. Maybe she didn't even know, but he was. Partly because he was protective of Piccolo, and Piccolo hadn't been the same since she'd left, but also because she had left and hadn't even said goodbye to him.

During his training he hadn't just been with Piccolo, but his aunt had been there too. During that time he'd like to have thought that they'd become close, maybe not as close as him and Piccolo, but close nonetheless. Then one day she just wasn't there anymore, Piccolo was in a bad mood ever since, and neither her nor Piccolo had said a word about why. The thing that hurt the most was the thought that his relationship with her was compliant on Piccolo being there, even though they were related not the other way around.

"Oh Goku's out catching dinner. Why don't you guys stay, we never have guests. Yamcha can you go find Goku and tell him he'd better catch double if his sister's here." Chichi smiled as she stood on the other side of the counter chopping vegetables, Gohan listening all the while to their conversation.

"No problem!" He paused and looked at Rori as if debating something before he just nodded to her awkwardly and headed out the door.

Rori now sat on a stool across from Chichi who had stopped chopping her carrots and just stared at the female saiyan.

"Is there something on my face?" Rori asked, blinking in compensation for Chichi who hadn't blinked in over a minute.

"No, no" she shook her head as a knowing smirk spread across her lips and she went back to chopping her vegetables, "it's just nice to see you wearing something normal for a change."

Rori looked down at her clothes. She'd stopped on the way there changing out of her training gear and into something more casual. It was true that when she was with Piccolo, she rarely wore anything other than her training clothes. What would be the point?

"I guess I have changed style a bit since the last visit..." she agreed shrugging her shoulders.

Chichi went to the fridge pulling out two glasses putting one in front of Rori and filling it with wine before she did her own. It wasn't often there were girls around her house and she was always happy when there was. While she hasn't seen this girl in two years, she'd definitely heard some things.

"So where have you been? Bulma tells me you'e been living with Yamcha, huh?" Chichi didn't waste anytime, the boys could be back any minute and she wanted to know what was going on.

"Oh well, yes initially, until I found my own place."

"Hmmm" Chichi responded sipping at her wine.

Rori just smiled, she could see how her brother was sometimes afraid of this woman. She knew she could knock Chichi out in a second if need be, but at the same time, just sitting across the table from her, she wasn't so sure that would go over too well. After a few moments of uncomfortable silence she caved to desperation, "It's not what you're thinking Chichi."

"Really?" she asked leaning in over the bar table a bit and lowering her voice, "It's ok Rori. We're practically sisters. And honestly, I think it's great."

Rori blinked again in confusion, "You think what is great?"

"Well.. you and Yamcha of course. He was really beat up over Bulma. Even when they were together, she was so independant. It was like she didn't really need him. But you're not from this planet, and Piccolo wasn't doing you any favors. He wasn't helping you integrate into this world. It's actually kind of beautiful, you needed Yamcha... he needed someone to need him...You compliment."

She didn't know what to say. Chichi wasn't completely wrong with her assuptions. Even though there had never been anything romantic on her part for Yamcha, they did seem to need each other. Before she could respond though they both heard the front door slam and Gohan was gone.

"Gohan where are you-"Chichi began to call after him, before Rori cut her off.

"I'll go get him."

Rori wandered outside, following the source of Gohan's energy. Eventually she found him, sitting on a log brooding with his chin in hands. She walked over cautiously, watching him as he actively ignored her. Now that she got a chance to really look at him she realized how much he'd grown. It seemed like only yesterday he was a crying toddler that could barely fend for himself and now he was probably even stronger than her. He was practically a teenager and she remembered how her teenage years had been a nightmare, even aboard Lord Freeza's ship. _Ugh, just Freeza, he's no lord to you anymore_ , she reminded herself.

"Mind if I sit?" she asked. When she realized the only answer she was going to get was from the chirping crickets, she took a seat of her own accord, crossing her legs before she followed suit, chin in hands and audibly sighed.

They stayed like this several minutes, just watching the forest, before she acquiesced to the silence and reached a hand out running it through his golden locks like his mother had done sooner. To her surprise he didn't pull away, but just sighed to this. She watched as her fingers played with his hair over what appeared to be Piccolo's style gear. He really did look up to the Namekian. She couldn't blame him for acting this way. He wasn't going to talk until he was ready. So she contented to just continue running her fingers through her nephew's hair and wait until he was ready.

Gohan looked to the ground as he couldn't hold the comment in any longer, "My mom's wrong. You shouldn't be with Yamcha... You shouldn't have left... Why did you leave? Mr. Piccolo is just... you didn't even say goodbye..."

Rori's eyes widenned. This whole time she'd been trying get over Piccolo, she hadn't even thought about how Gohan might feel. Her and Piccolo had been around and together for him since he was so young. She'd just always assumed that he was closer to Piccolo, that her leaving wouldn't affect him.

"I didn't want to... It's complicated Gohan, I-"

"It's fine. I know you you're not going to tell me. No one tells me anything because they think I'm too young. Piccolo wouldn't explain it to me. My dad won't tell me why we're not training. Just because I'm a kid... I'm not stupid, I can put it together, if we're not training there's nothing more we can do... Cell's going to win."

"Gohan... You're father did not tell you to stop fighting because he thinks we can't win. You know him better than that. He will do everything possible to make sure Cell doesn't win. We all will." she sighed getting off the log and kneeling before him so she could look into his eyes.

"You're right though. You're growing up. And if you want to know what's going on then you deserve answers. I can't tell you what your dads thinking and I can't tell you what Piccolo's thinking either, but I can tell you my side."

Gohan stared at her as if he couldn't believe someone was actually going to let him in on something. He never understood how he was old enough to fight like an adult, but no one would talk to him like one. Piccolo was the closest person to ever do that, until Rori left. Then all of a sudden the secrets wall went up, "Really?"

"Of course." she said before standing up, "walk with me?"

Gohan stood up and followed her as they walked along the creek path. "Gohan, do you remember your first fight? When the saiyans came. When you couldn't attack Nappa. Why didn't you do it?"

Gohan though back cringing a bit at how cowardly he'd been. He'd always felt bad about that, he wished he'd known why he didn't attack, "I don't know really... It was my first fight... I was scared I guess."

Rori nodded, "The first time for anything is scary. We don't always react the way we should... and how do you feel about that now? Do you still think about it?"

Gohan blinked, he wasn't sure where she was going with this, it seemed a bit off subject, "Well... I do think about it sometimes... I think about what I should have done... I don't really like to think about it though..."

Rori turned to him walking backwards now, "Well Piccolo was my first real relationship. Things were good when things were easy between us. When things get hard that's when it becomes difficult to make the right decision, to not let fear get ahold of you. I think about how Piccolo told me we were over and I wish I had done something different. I wish that I had found a way to make things better, but I was scared and so I ran."

Gohan stopped walking, "Piccolo broke up with you?"

She nodded, shrugging her shoulders, it still hurt to think about.

Gohan thought for a moment. It didn't make any sense. Piccolo was miserable without her, "why?"

She sighed, "I honestly don't know... he wouldn't say. I wish I had stuck around and tried to find out."

"But he still loves you" Gohan said trying to understand why Piccolo would break up with her.

"I know... yet, he won't stop pushing me away." she sighed looking at him, he was so young. For him love was just love and that was that, but he had asked her for answers, "Sometimes love isn't enough. This is something I'm hoping you won't have to learn for yourself as you get older. Gohan, Piccolo and your dad aren't trying to keep things from you. Growing up means making tough decisions and facing the realities of things for better or for worse. They're just trying to protect you from it a little longer."

Gohan stayed silent for a while before he tilted his head to the side, "Dont you think that's what Piccolo's doing for you?"

"What?"

"He loves you, aunt Rori. When you're not around he's not the same. He's more moody than usual. If he won't tell you why you can't be together... don't you think he's trying to protect you from something?"

"Gohan... You're mother's right. We need to get you into one of those smart kid schools" she smiled and put her arm around him as they walked back toward the house.

"Does this mean you're not going to be with Yamcha?"

"It means I need to break down that stubborn mentor of yours and find out what he's hiding from me. Even if I'm a little scared to find out."

"I'll give you some tips." Gohan laughed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews and the feedback. So for now I'll continue with the short little chapters like this because I've been so tied up in my studies. Anyways, next Rori will have a confrontation with Cell, have some bonding time with Vegeta. Just one more teaser, when all is said and done, we haven't seen the end of 17. I know some of you have asked for him to come back. Until next time! :)


	19. I'm Not Afraid of You

Rori lay in bed, eyes wide open, sometime in the early hours of the day between night and morning. She and Yamcha had stayed at Goku's for dinner as planned. She'd asked Goku if he was willing to test his skills, but he refused. He wasn't training, wasn't practicing, wasn't talking about it either. He was relaxing. He told her she should be doing the same. It made her wonder if Gohan had been right after all. Was Goku giving up? He must know something that she didn't. As they stayed up late for dinner, Chichi insisted that her and Yamcha stay the night. Yamcha was in Gohan's room, probably fast asleep by now, and Rori was on the couch wide awake with a sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach. Though she was worried about how aloof her brother had been acting, it wasn't that that kept her awake, but her conversation with Gohan. Of course, she had asked Piccolo why they couldn't be together if he still loved her, but she had never gotten an answer. It was shameful, really, having these thoughts when the fate of the world was at stake, but if it was really going to be over soon, she needed to know. After rolling over for probably an hour, trying to get her mind off of the man she'd loving given the pseudonym of "that green bastard" in her head, she gave up. She wasn't going to get any rest.

Rori looked outside the window to find that the sky was completely dark and remembered Vegeta would be getting out of the Time Chamber soon. Maybe he would be up for training because doing nothing was slowly driving her insane. Yes, she'd go to the Lookout and wait for Vegeta, not go see Piccolo, but Vegeta, she lied to herself. She crept over to the kitchen table, grabbing her bag, slinging it over her back before she started to sneak out, stopping after she remembered she'd come with Yamcha. Should she wake him? She'd decided against it, but left a note saying she couldn't sleep and she'd probably be at Capsule Corp when they woke up. Technically not lying.

Once the note was written she quickly sneaked out the door. She shivered for a moment, having not brought a jacket with her. Ugh, flying was going to be even colder. She took a few minutes running through the woods trying to warm herself before she ascended to where she could see the almost full moon over the trees. She smiled watching it, taunting it, "hey friend... guess we're cool when I don't have a tail, huh?"

Rori flew leisurely towards the Lookout, knowing it would probably be at least an hour before Vegeta left the Time Chamber, if not more. That stubborn Prince wouldn't let her stay in longer than him. Hopefully he didn't get stuck in there out of pride. Despite their differences, he'd been acting different towards Rori since Bulma had Vegeta's son. Protective, but not romantic. Well actually he'd never been romantic. Protective and less demanding. Maybe brotherly? It reminded her of their relationship when they were growing up on Freiza's ship.

She stopped flying and losing her train of thought in the same moment, as she saw something below she hadn't expected. A big white looking square in the middle of nowhere with someone standing in the center. It was hard to tell from in the air who it was so she descended a bit and realized. This must be the ring Cell had created. While there was a pit in her stomach telling her to leave immediately, her curiosity got the better of her and she landed in the ring, a few feet away from the insect looking creature.

"I know your eager dear, but you still have over a week" he wasted no time taunting her, "Patience is a virtue after all."

She scoffed, "what do you know about virtues?"

Choosing to ignore her last statement, he looked her up and down appearing to be pleased with her progress "So, I see you've mastered your phoenix form."

"I'm not here to exchange pleasantries, Cell", she hated this game he was trying to play at.

"Then why are you here?" he asked crossing his arms and made his way closer to her, "So early in the morning... __I'm starting to think I have you up at night. Or did you just miss me?__ "

Rori stared at him, unmoving. The last part, the voice that came out of him wasn't Cell's, but 17's voice. Now she was confused. Was he really still in there or was this some kind of trick. Then again, Cell had saved her. Was that really Cell or was it 17.

"17?" she asked unsure.

" _That's right_ ," his voice came again, but it was Cell that smirked back at her.

"What can I do? How do we get you out of there?" she hurried to him grabbing Cell's arm, but he stopped her.

" _ _You think I want out of this? This is ultimate power, Rori. Can't you see, even Goku knows, there's no way out of this. I don't want one either, I'm perfect.__ "

"But... you're not you, 17. It's not your power, maybe a part of it is, but it's also your sister's and stolen from thousands of people." she shook her head, how could 17 want something like that it didn't make sense, when he was with her he wanted to kill Goku, but on his own, man to man, respectably like when he'd fought with Piccolo.

" _It's not stolen. They're part of something much greater than themselves now. They're part of perfection. I'll tell you what, just say it now, tell me I'm perfect and I'll save you from all of this_ _._ " he leaned it but she pushed him back when she finally realized his trick. She wanted to believe 17 was still in there, but it wasn't true.

"Quit messing with my head!" she screamed as Cell chuckled and sighed.

"So close."

"What do you want from me? Why did you do that? Why did you save me earlier?"

"I hate to disappoint you, but the answer is not as great as I'm sure you're expecting. It's purely biological."

"What do you mean?"

"I am a product of Freiza's cells, Piccolo's cells, but most importantly saiyan cells."

"So what?"

"Well, your the phoenix. You should recognize perfection when you see it. You can smell it on us. Like you could with Vegeta and Trunks."

"You want my approval?"

"I want to hear the phoenix say that I am the ultimate. That I am perfection. No one can defeat me. Tell me, how's my scent now?"

"Putrid just as before." she shivered just thinking about it.

"So you think someone can beat me?"

"Of course I do."

"And who would that be?"

She paused thinking now. Normally she would say Goku, but with the way he'd been acting lately, she wasn't so sure, "I-I don't know… but it's not a lie, someone is stronger than you. As you said, if they weren't I would know."

Cell rested his arm around her shoulder, "Well strength is only one factor in this. As you saw with Trunks earlier, strength does not mean you win. But, you'll learn all about that. I'm going to paint you an image of the future. When this tournament is over, I will kill all those in the tournament immediately. Then I will destroy this planet and everyone on it. I'll probably go to other planets, but they won't know me or who I am or what's I've accomplished. They won't know how perfectly I destroyed all the hope on this planet or the others I'll have destroyed. It's a shame don't you think?"

He didn't wait for her response which would have been a resounding no, she tried to move out from his grip but he held her firmly in place, "I'm not going to lie, I thought I might bring Trunks with me because it would be so rewarding to see the knowledge on his face every day that he could have prevented this. He came back in this time to stop the androids, but only doomed it to an even more dire fate. In his time only this world was destroyed, but now that he meddled, the whole universe will be destroyed. But then I thought about you. How you refuse to see my perfection. Perhaps it's Vegeta's stubborn pride or its just pure saiyan biology, but I'm going to make the phoenix see how perfectly I can destroy this universe. Oh, don't act like it wouldn't excite you in the slightest either, you're a saiyan, destruction is in your blood. When this is over, you'll come with me and you'll be the one to witness what I've accomplished. And when there is nothing left, and you tell me I smell putrid, I'll know you've been lying. There will be no one left, no comparison."

He let her go. Letting it all sink in for a moment. So, she'd finally escaped one cage and she was about to be put in another. Again, _she_ would be safe while the universe is brought to desrtuction. Perhaps she should have just stayed on Freiza's ship. At least there this process would have been slower. Less people dying. She couldn't live like that again. Rori turned to him sucking in her breath steadily, trying to keep her voice calm as she whispered, "I'm not afraid of you."

"Yet." he he answered pleasantly. With that she took off and he yelled behind her, "Don't even think of killing yourself. If you do I will take Trunks in your place!"

* * *

Rori flew as fast as she could to the Lookout. Why had she left Goku's this morning. The world now had the dark blue glow it had when morning was just around the corner as she arrived at the lookout, flying up the edge and stopping as she came face to face with Piccolo. She stepped down in front of him, silently trying to figure out what to say. She needed him. She needed someone to tell her there was no way Cell would win.

Piccolo had been watching Cell from the Lookout since he and Rori had gotten out of the time Chamber. Mr. Popo had come over now and again to tell him to rest, but he'd only grunted at the man and remained firmly at his post. He hadn't expected what he'd just seen. As he knew Rori was approaching now, he didn't know what to do or how to calm her until she arrived and he saw the look in her eyes of complete hopelessness. When she landed in front of him, he wasted no time, but he grabbed her by the back of the neck, pulling her into him by her waist and stared firmly into her eyes. "He cannot have you. I won't let him, do you understand?"

Rori nodded trying to fight back her tears, as she leaned her forehead against his. Piccolo lifted her into his arms and she wrapped her legs around his back. Arms planted loosely around his neck, she kept her body glued to his, he kept their eyes locked until he was sure she knew what Cell said would never come to fruition. Once he was sure she knew this, he let his lips meet hers, his eyes closing as they kissed, running his rough hands down he sides. He would make her forget, if only for a moment.

He slid one hand over her thigh and tugged up her skirt as she rolled her hips over his. She sighed as he moved against her; he needed this distraction as much as she did. As she sighed he took this opportunity to let his tongue slip past her lips, crushing her lips beneath his. When he felt himself on the brink, he pulled his length out from his pants and slowly slid her down on it after he pushed her panties to the side, rubbing a thumb expertly over just the right spot. Rori moaned softly as he slid inside her, her forehead still touching his, their eyes connecting. He brought a quick finger to her lips reminding her to be quiet and eyed behind him.

She peaked out briefly from over his shoulder seeing that Trunks and Mr. Popo were now sitting asleep in front of the Time Chamber. Initially she worried that they might be seen if the others woke up, but her legs were hidden carefully behind Piccolo's cape and before she could think it through anymore, she found she was losing her thoughts to his movements as he pulled her gaze back to him. She could no longer think about anything other than how he was stretching her perfectly with each movement or his wandering hands that found their spot on her ass pulling her closer to create a friction that was pushing her over the edge. When he saw she was about to lose herself he covered her lips with his, muffling her cry as he spilled himself inside of her.

As she slid herself off of him with one last rough kiss, she pulled her skirt back down. With her feet firmly on the ground again she suddenly felt exhausted. Piccolo seemed to notice as he picked her back up and carried her into a part of the Lookout that she didn't even know existed. It was completely white, just like the rooms in the Time Chamber, with a bed and not much else. He laid her in it, as she started to protest he got in next to her, "I'll wake you when he's out don't worry."

* * *

"Hey, it's time" Piccolo roused Rori from her sleep. She sat up groggily, her hair pointing in all directions, looking more saiyan than ever. She sighed and felt the same sick feeling she had earlier in the night when she couldn't sleep. Who wouldn't be stressed out this close to the end though? She sighed pushing past the feeling and met Piccolo's strangely content yet mocking face.

"What?" she asked making a face at him.

"You look like your brother when you wake up." he laughed.

She sighed, knowing what he meant and started to run her fingers through her hair, pulling it back down to normal. It was then she realized her hair was normal again. She must have come out of her phoenix form while sleeping. She quickly recharged and her hair went back to its firey color, and so did her remarks,"I move a lot in my sleep, you know."

"Believe me, I'm aware." he answered before dodging the pillow she threw at him.

"You're going to keep an eye on that psychopath right?"

"Yeah, go train with Vegeta, but focus on staying in phoenix form this time, even if you take a rest."

She started to leave the room, but stopped in the doorway, turning back to him. "I was coming here to ask you again why we can't have this... you and me... but I'm not sure right that now I can handle anymore bad news...so I won't ask, but when this is over, please, tell me what's going on, I know you want me to move on, but I will never be able to until you tell me why... I just... thought you should know."

She left before he could answer, finding Vegeta looking pretty beaten up after his stay in the chamber.

"Well?" she asked arching her brow, curious to see how much he'd changed, but by the looks of him he hadn't figured out what Goku had.

"Well you'll have to see for yourself." he challenged her.

"All right, let's get you cleaned up first though, I don't want you saying it wasn't a fair fight... Last one to your wife's place is a saibaman!" she teased him before flying off towards Capsule Corp.

"You just cheated and she is not my wife!" He yelled before he following after her. She was far ahead of him but to his surprise the closer they got to Capsule Corp the more he gained up on her. In fact, he even passed her before he stopped feeling her energy. By this point they were only a few miles away from Capsule Corp. Vegeta stopped, though he wanted to win, something was wrong. He turned to see her falling from the sky and raced back to catch her.

Vegeta caught her just before she broke through the clouds, finding her unconcious. He shook her a bit. She didn't wake, but her hair changed back to its golden color. The only thing he could think of was that the heart problem Kakarot had must run in the family and he took her as fast as he could to Capsule Corp.

When he landed, Bulma's mother stopped her gardening and smiled to him, "Oh there's the daddy of the year. Can I get you something to drink, Vegeta?"

"No! Where's the woman?!"

"Oh, she's in her office working on some android, I think. Oh! Is your little friend sick?" she asked worried.

Vegeta ignored her and raced inside and down the hallway, finding Bulma glued to her computer when he arrived. He pushed her papers off the table, clearing a space to lay the unconcious saiyan.

"Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing? No hi? no how's the baby?!" she started before she turned and saw Rori unconcious. She quickly helped Vegeta set her down, "What happened? Was it Cell?"

"No... she just fell from the sky! She seemed fine a minute ago!" he was panicking. While Vegeta wouldn't admit it he was head over heels for Bulma now, but Rori was the last one of his race he actually didn't want dead. It was worrying seeing the last of his race diminishing over something he couldn't conrol.

"It's ok, she's still breathing."

"Is it that virus Kakarot had?"

"No... She'd be in a lot of pain if it was that. Chichi told me Goku was screaming for hours. Wait out side I'll check her over."

When Vegeta looked as if he wasn't going to budge, she sighed, "She's my friend, you know. I'm not going to let anything happen to her."

"You'd better not." he answered before leaving.

"I hope Yamcha's not as romantic with you as Vegeta is with me..." she whispered her joke to Rori before she looked her over.

As Bulma was taking her pulse, Rori stirred in her sleep blinking her eyes open and looked over to find Bulma holding her wrist looking at her watch, "what are you doing Bulma?"

"Hey... you passed out. How are you feeling?" Bulma asked moving her hand over Rori's forehead.

"I feel kind of sick to my stomach, but other than that... ok I guess." she anwsered, "How'd I get here?"

"Vegeta said you passed out while flying. He caught you and brought you here."

"I'm surprised he didn't let me fall." she sighed before sitting up, feeling a bit dizzy as she did so.

"Hey, you might not realize it, but he isn't all that bad." she said while walking towards her desk opening a draw and rummaging through it, "You know after you and Piccolo broke up he went to find Piccolo and told him off apparently."

"What?" she asked, astonished that Vegeta hadn't come directly to her back then when he was always trying to become her mate.

"I know, I stopped him initially because I thought he was going to go after you, but he left later that night. When talked to you later I found out that he didn't go to see you. When I asked him he mummbled something about that he was going on your behalf, something like how dare that green bastard! Saiyans mate for life! He had no right!... I dunno, I'm surprised I got that much out of him frankly... Ah hah! Here it is!" she took out a box from the drawer and brought it over to Rori, "This is just a guess... but you seem fine other than you feeling a little sick and looking a little pale, so let's just rule out this before we take you to a real doctor. Just pee on this stick in the bathroom over there."

"...You want me to what?" Rori stumbled, as Bulma pushed her toward the bathroom.

"Just take the cap off and do your business on the strip. I'll explain later."

Within a few minutes Rori came back out of the bathroom arching her brow at Bulma, "That was gross and surprisingly difficult."

Bulma took it and set it on the table before she turned back to Rori, "So... how are you and Yamcha...?"

This situation could not get more awkward. "Uhh... Fine. I guess Chichi told you?"

"Well I'd kind of been expecting it for a while. Yamcha had asked me a while ago if I was cool with it. I'm glad you two found each other." Bulma smiled.

"Honestly, I'm not sure if its actually a good idea." Rori sighed, "Did you ever get the feeling that he was more invested in this than you."

"Oh, all the time." she smiled, "but he's a good guy. Oh, and hey, now you have a reason to be invested too."

"What do you mean?" Rori asked watching as Bulma looked over at the stick.

Bulma held up the pregnancy test, "You're pregnant. That's why you've been feeling weird. You probably passed out because you've been over doing it with training. Congratulation, you know maybe you weren't sure before, but honestly I'd take Yamcha to father my kid over Vegeta any day. You got lucky."

"Bulma... Yamcha and I have never had sex... It has to be Piccolo's. When we were in the Time Chamber..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hey, thanks for all the comments again! Sorry for not getting to this chapter in a while. I've been writing for work and school and it's kind of soured my taste on writing... But I do want to finish this. And it's almost at the end. I hope you enjoy. I'm sure you can all see this little problem will come to a close very quickly. 17 will be coming back at the end never fear. And Rori and Piccolo will finally work this out. I think one or two more chapters. Thanks for your patience!
> 
> -Veil


	21. In Too Deep

Piccolo left the inner room of the Lookout just in time to watch Rori fly off, followed in tail by Vegeta. Trunks was now taking his turn in the Time Chamber and Popo was taking care of his plants. He now had found the perfect silence he sought after so many times, but was always interrupted by something or someone. Yet even in silence, he found he was deafened by his own thoughts. At first he tried to focus on watching Cell, but it quickly became clear that the only thing he was achieving by doing so was the same amount of boredom Cell himself was currently going through. Still, he should keep an eye on him to be sure. Piccolo thought back trying to remember a time when he could meditate without a care, when he didn't have to mentally stop himself from thinking, but the only time he could think of was before he'd met Rori. It's true what they say, love is weakness. If his father could see him now... he'd be sickened. Losing his life for his Goku's son, losing his mind for Goku's sister. He knew he had a choice to make now.

__Love can also be strength_._ Kami's voice resonated in his mind. __You are not your father. And love can be a strength for you too, if you'd let it_._

__You think I don't love her?_ _If I didn't I would take her back in a second and let her waste her life with someone who can't give her what she wants.__

_You're not taking him seriously are you?_ Nail inquired now sounding a bit worried _. Vegeta was just messing with you!_

Piccolo took a moment and thought back to the night Vegeta had come to give him a visit. It was the same day he'd sent Rori away. He spent the rest of the day with Goku and Gohan, training. When dinner time came, he sat at their sides, not eating, but just observing. When Gohan finally headed in for bed, he walked out of the house, the light from the windows making it glow into the early evening. As soon as he took a few steps into the darkness, he knew he wasn't alone. He couldn't feel out the person's energy though, they were hiding it, but he knew someone was there. Naturally, he thought it was Rori coming back, but was surprised, though he didn't show it, to find Vegeta hopping out of a nearby tree and landing before him.

For a long moment the two stood as statues watching each other. For Piccolo this was normal behavior, but it was rare to see Vegeta at a loss for words. Piccolo was the first to speak, "Goku's inside."

"I'm not here for that idiot." The prince responded, still standing firmly in Piccolo's way, "I came to find out why you think you have the right throw the last living female of my race to the side like scraps."

Piccolo was taken aback by Vegeta's sudden anger. If anything, he would have thought the Prince would be happy she was available again, though he didn't think Vegeta would have found out so quickly. Then he remembered how he'd told Rori who Trunks was. He knew she would never interfere with that and smirked, "Don't be mad at me if she still doesn't want you."

"You don't get it green man. I don't want her." Vegeta fumed, to which Piccolo raised a brow as if to question Vegeta's last statement, "Look you're not one of us, so I'm going to explain this too you in the simplest terms I can think of. Saiyan's mate for life. She will never have another mate. She will look for companionship, but never find it."

Piccolo scoffed at this, "If I remember correctly you were trying to get real cozy with her after I died. You think I believe you don't want her? Besides if you don't want her, what do you care what happens to her anyway?"

"I may have lost my race and made some questionable decisions, but I will not let the last one of them that means something to me live a shell of a life!" Vegeta closed the space between the two of them, "I don't know why you let her go, but just know that as long as you are living, she will be alone thanks to you. At least when you were dead, she stood a chance of finding another mate."

Vegeta placed his hand over Piccolo's chest sending a ki blast at him making soar back through the woods before yelling after him, "When you decide your ready to give her back her life, I'll be happy to help you take yours!"

Piccolo snapped out of his thoughts on the lookout. He remembered that night vividly as if it were yesterday. He'd always thought Vegeta was just messing with him, but was he right? The look on Rori's face today before she left. She hadn't let him go. She never would. As long as he was around, she would still hope. He did love her and he wanted her to have the life she deserved, even if it wasn't with him. It was time to let her go.

* * *

Rori watched as an array of emotions displayed across Bulma's face, but it had now been five minutes and she still had yet to comment.

"Do you need a chair?" Rori asked pulling one out and helped Bulma sit down.

Bulma was completely thrown off when she heard that Piccolo was the father. After all, she remembered the little problem Piccolo had come to her with. She was almost positive there was no way that a Saiyan and a Namekian could have a baby. Then she remembered she couldn't let Rori know that she had talked to Piccolo about this. She took a deep breath and looked up at Rori curiously, "but... is it even possible... remember the Namekians? They were all guys. How could it be Piccolo's?"

Rori stared at Bulma blinking for a moment, "Bulma... don't you know how babies are made? I mean you have one? So... when a man and a woman are alone... the guy starts by-"

"STOP!" Bulma cut her off putting her finger to her lips, "not another word out of you... Yes, I know the concept, but I just didn't think Namekians could reproduce the way Humans and Saiyans do"

"Oh" Rori answered, "Well they do... and I feel sick..."

"That's normal. Just go in the bathroom over there, I'll see if I can't get you something for that."

While Rori was in the bathroom, Bulma called down for her mom to bring up some of the tea that had soothed her stomach when she was pregnant. Then she went back to repairing Android 16 for a few minutes, before there was yet another distraction. Outside she heard two men's voices arguing before there was a thud.

When she left the room she found Vegeta standing by the door and Yamcha trying to get past him with the tea that her mother sent up.

"She's my girlfriend and I'm going to see her." Yamcha argued trying to get around Vegeta.

"She's unconscious, she doesn't need visitors and you're as much of her boyfriend as you were Bulma's"

"Quit yelling you two! You're going to wake the baby!" Bulma's scream was followed by the sound of baby Trunks crying in the lab. She sighed placing her hand on her forehead, pushing some of her hair back in frustration, "I give up, I'm never going to get any work done, am I?"

Rori walked out of lab, looking a bit weak and pale, but otherwise normal, "What's going on out here?"

"Just bringing some tea to my sick girlfriend. So what do you have anyway?" Yamcha chimed walking past Vegeta finally. At the use of girlfriend Rori felt like she was going to have to make a u-turn and go directly back to the bathroom, not because she disliked Yamcha, but because she knew she had to end this.

"I think I need to talk to Yamcha alone for a moment..." Rori looked to Bulma.

"Take the lab, I'm not getting any work done anyway." Bulma said before she picked up Trunks, leaving her lab to Rori and Yamcha.

"Bulma", Rori stopped her in passing, "Let's have this stay between the four of us for now. I don't want him hearing it from someone else."

"Of course" Bulma nodded as she left.

Rori closed the door behind her and looked over to Yamcha who was now watching her intently.

"So you fell out of the sky unconscious? What does Bulma think is going on?"

_Damn_ , she thought sighing, _And he looks so cute today. How am I going to break this too him..._

"Yeah", she nodded with a small smile, "Luckily it's not something serious."

"Good so I can still kiss you then." he leaned in to kiss her, but Rori's hand pushed him back at arms length. She didn't want this to be any harder than it had to be.

"I'm pregnant, Yamcha." Rori kept her eyes to the ground, she couldn't risk looking up and meeting his eyes, if she did she wouldn't be able to go through with this, "I'm sorry."

Yamcha watched her, he knew she couldn't have cheated on him in two days and produced a baby. Still he was angry, but he didn't let it show. "Well, I guess Piccolo's going to be a daddy, huh?"

Rori looked up at him tears in her eyes, she didn't think Yamcha would be so accepting of this. She knew he must have been upset, but he was still being supportive.

"Yeah" she answered in almost a whisper before wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Hey," he laughed pulling her into hug and rubbed her back, "It's OK. I know you didn't plan it. We weren't together when this happened. And you're going to be a great mom."

"You're really not mad?" she looked up at him from where her head was buried in his chest to hide her tears.

"I am, but I'll get over it." he sighed shaking his head, "There are more important things to worry about now."

* * *

"I just don't get it..." Bulma sat outside with baby Trunks in one arm, chewing on the thumb nail of her opposite hand thinking while Vegeta was stewing. "How could they possibly... I mean they've been together for years and nothing. And now that they're not together, boom. Baby. I tried to match their cells. It should be impossible!"

"If it was impossible, we wouldn't be training as hard to beat that monstrosity created from our cells right now. Saiyan females aren't as easy as you humans." Vegeta responded.

"What is that supposed to mean!?" Bulma covered Trunks's ears before she scolded Vegeta.

"No, not like that! Is that all you ever think about?" he rolled his eyes before explaining, "Normal Saiyan females take years to have children. Their bodies only accept the strongest possible outcomes. Rori's a Phoenix on top of that, of course it would take forever for her to conceive. Especially with that Namekian, he's no where near as strong as I am, Trunks, the Androids, or Cell…"

"Or Goku..." Bulma pointed out.

"Hmph… The point is, her body has probably been rejecting every possible option because the Namekian's not the strongest."

"Oh... she said they were in the Time Chamber when it happened... So theoretically, that means he was the strongest in that dimension..."

"I'm training now if you're finished your interrogation." Vegeta turned toward the pod space ship in the the yard.

"Are you sure? I finally got Trunks to sleep."

"So that _is_ all you think about."

"Are you complaining?" Bulma asked with a sly grin.

"Come on." he motioned for her to follow him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Ok so don't kill me. This is a short chapter because I have very little time, but I had at least this part thought out. So I figured this is better than waiting months for the longer version. Anyway, since it's shorter that means a few more chapters will be coming out. I hope you're not all too worried for Piccolo. If it makes you feel better I don't write tragedies. We have enough of that in life. :)


	22. Head-On Collision

Days went by and even though Bulma had convinced Rori it was best not to join in the Cell Games, she continued her training. Still, she had stopped using her phoenix form and that was something. She tried not to strain herself, not wanting anything harmful to happen to her body now that she wasn't the only one using it. The gravity training room was her best bet at not going overboard while still keeping active. Even though she had promised Bulma she wouldn't go to the fight, she still worried. Cell would be angry now if she didn't show up. He'd know something was amiss. Either way, it was suicide and she needed to be there too.

"So, you're still planning on competing?"

Rori looked up from her plank position hearing Vegeta's questioning voice after he'd entered the gravity room. She bent her knees coming back to a seated position and shrugged her shoulders looking like a cat who'd been caught lying about devouring a mouse with a tail sticking out of it's mouth, "I said I wouldn't, didn't I?"

"Then what are you doing? You shouldn't have the gravity on in here either... "

"Calm down," she stood up and waved him off, "I'm fine. And look, it's no more gravity than on our home planet. I'm not putting my body through anything it can't handle."

"If you're not going to fight, you're hogging the gravity room when I could be using it."

"Now you just sound like you did back when you were a teenager." She shook her head. Rori knew she was being stubborn, but she couldn't help herself imitating his voice, "Don't hog the training room! That's for people who are actually going to conquer planets, blah, blah..."

Rori ignored the annoyed look on his face and started doing sit-ups, not surprised to find that he had plopped himself next to her, silently doing his push-ups. This felt like a shadow from a distant past that was all too familiar. Vegeta never liked her when she was very little or so she'd thought. When she was around the age Gohan was when she first arrived on Earth, Vegeta had treated her like a pesky bug that wouldn't leave him alone. Though he was probably right to do so. She tended to cling to him when he would come back to the ship after long journeys because he was closer to her in age than Nappa, and Raditz always scolded her like a father. It wasn't until she was around Gohan's current age that Rori had realized Vegeta didn't hate her. It dawned on her that Vegeta could have kicked her out of the training room like Nappa or her brother often did, but with Vegeta that never happened. If Vegeta found her in the training room on Freiza's ship when it was his turn, he'd grumble and tell her she was wasting his time, but he'd never kick her out. He'd only do the same as he did today. Once in a while he'd yell at her for her form or tell her she wasn't doing something right, but by then she knew he was actually trying to help her progress in his own ill-tempered way.

After a few minutes, Rori came up from a crunch and held herself there before letting her arms drop from their position around her head to her sides, "Vegeta?"

The older Saiyan didn't answer, but he turned his head to look at her from the corner of his eye.

"I need to tell you something..." she had thought about this over and over, and had finally come to the conclusion that Vegeta was the only one she could trust to do what needed to be done.

"I know you still want to fight and I think you should." he commented without breaking his stance.

Rori shook her head, "No, it's not that..."

Vegeta sat up audibly sighing to portray his patience was thinning, "Out with it, we only have a few days to train."

Rori took a deep breath, but she knew he should know about what Cell had told her when she'd encountered the over-sized bug the other day. Trunks was his son after all. Even though he acted as though he couldn't care less, she knew it wasn't true. She'd known him her whole life and he acted the same way around her from time to time. So she took a deep breath and told him every detail of what Cell had revealed her: how he would make her life miserable again and how if it wasn't her, he'd take Trunks. When she finished she gave him a minute to let things sink in before she could ask him what she'd been wanting to, but he cut her off.

"You're not going."

"What? But you just said-"

"If you go now, you're just going to get in my way!" Vegeta couldn't believe she would even think about going to the tournament knowing what Cell was planning. If she went now, he'd have to keep his eye out for not only her but Trunks as well. And Bulma wasn't wrong-which was as close to thinking Bulma was right as he would ever admit he had been-if Rori went she wasn't just putting her life at risk anymore. Before he knew about what Cell was planning, he wasn't too worried about the phoenix, but he couldn't protect everyone. Planet Vegeta was proof of that.

"The only reason I'm telling you this... I just wanted you to know because if he wins, whether I'm there or not he'll find me and if he doesn't he'll find Trunks. I know you don't want that for either of us. You know what it was like on Freiza's ship... This will be much worse. If something goes wrong... Please don't let us go through that..." Rori pleaded. If she were alone in this, she'd learn to live with it, but now she was about to have a baby. She couldn't let that child be used as one of Cell's pawns and she hoped that Vegeta would understand the sentiment. He must feel that same about Trunks.

"You think I'd...?" he couldn't even finish the sentence. How could she think he would kill his own son or his oldest... friend? Even in these circumstances.

"You killed Nappa... no problem...right?"

Vegeta stared her down now furious. He didn't know what to say. How could she not see the difference. Yes, he'd killed Nappa, but he didn't care for Nappa like he did her or his son. She knew that. Why was she throwing this in his face?

"Vegeta... I'm asking you for this because whether you'll admit it or not, I know you actually care enough about us to stop us from living that kind of fate. If things look like they're going south on the battlefield... If not for me, for your son, for mine."

Vegeta stood up no longer able to look at her and started to leave the room.

"You... are not going." he voice resonated strong and firm before she felt the door slam behind him.

Cell was quite proud of himself. At first he was worried that he would be bored, but after his little meeting with Rori, the military showed up, followed by a news crew. At the very least he was not alone now, despite having easily disposed of the military. He made sure to give the cameras the very show they were looking for. Soon, things quieted down again and he began to feel around for the energies of the Z fighters. It kept him busy to keep tabs on them. Every now and then one energy would go missing, first Piccolo and Rori, then Vegeta, and then Trunks. This never happened more than a day. Though after Rori had paid him a visit, he had not felt her power again in a few days. He could tell that the others were still training now and then, but the sudden drop off in her power seemed to intrigue him. Maybe he shouldn't have revealed his plans for her until it was too late for her to escape. Was that what she was trying to do now? He had always thought that even if she was afraid, he had gotten through to her by threatening to take Trunks in her place. Was she selfish enough to try and hide now? He didn't think so, but he wasn't going to risk it.

Cell looked over to one of the cameramen filming him from a distance. Once Cell's eyes made contact with the man filming, he watched as the coward started to visibly shake with fear, and his shaking only increased when Cell moved one of his fingers slightly beckoning him to come closer. Cautiously, but quickly, the camera man came over to the side of the arena where Cell met him.

"You-you wanted to t-t-talk to me s-sir?" the cameraman stuttered.

"Just a little message I wanted to make sure an acquaintance of mine hears." Cell smirked, now facing the frightened journalist, "Don't worry as long as you promise to air this a few times, I promise not to harm you."

The cameraman nodded, rolling the film and pointing his camera towards the creature, calming himself enough to speak without stuttering, "Whenever your ready, sir."

After things had gotten heated between Rori and Vegeta, she decided it best to let Vegeta have his training room and left to spend the day back at her apartment. Surprisingly, Yamcha asked to join her, acting as if nothing had changed between them the past few days, despite the brevity of giving their relationship a shot. Rori sat on the floor between her sofa and coffee table half watching the news channel that was covering the pre-Cell Game activities, half pushing around the food they'd ordered around the plate with her chop sticks.

"You're really out of it, huh? You usually devour your food..." Yamcha commented from behind her, actually making use of her couch by sitting on it.

"Huh?... Yeah, I guess... I'm not really that hungry lately... Bulma said that was normal... just ...I didn't think it would be this bad..."

"You'll get you appetite back, don't worry. Don't you remember how Bulma eventually started eating almost as much as Vegeta?" Yamcha laughed.

"Oh, yeah!" she smiled and then suddenly froze, "...wait... I think that means we're going to need a small farm to feed a pregnant Saiyan appetite..."

"...you're really going to wait to tell Piccolo until after the Cell Games?" Yamcha questioned a bit concerned. He knew if it was his kid, he would want to know, even if there was a chance they were all going to die anyway.

"I don't see the point in worrying him now..." she continued to play with the food, trying to avoid this conversation, "It would just make it that more upsetting if we don't survive, you know? Maybe he doesn't want to be with me, but I still think he would want our kid. I see the way he is with Gohan and... I don't know... I just don't think it's the right time."

Yamcha could never understand why Piccolo had ended things with Rori. He knew their break-up had crushed Rori, but he wasn't so sure that Piccolo didn't feel the same way. He had observed Piccolo while he was with Rori and then again when they went to fight the androids without her and something was just off about him then, but he couldn't put his finger on it. The guy was so stoic; it was hard to tell if he wasn't just imagining things.

They both got distracted by the television cutting to a new scene away from the normal commotion of the Cell's arena. The instant they saw who it was for, the two burst into laughter together. Rori buried her head into the sofa, her face surrounded by a blanket of her hair and arms trying to keep her laughter in as the scene cut to Hercule assuring the public that Cell's strength was nothing, but a mere back alley trick, a light spectacle and nothing more. When she looked up she saw Yamcha trying to calm himself, but there were tears coming from the corners of his eyes, he had been laughing so hard.

"I really needed that!" he smiled at her, trying not to look back at the tv screen, knowing he might start again.

Rori risked a glance back at the screen and sighed, "D'you think we should warn him?"

_Rori and Yamcha had had a previous encounter with Hercule not too long ago at a bar. It was hard to forget, especially for Rori. It was the night after she'd finished a terribly long set with Sam, who was also witness to the event. They had all been so fed up with the sexist set director that day. They were so tired that they didn't even change out of the sports wear that the set had supplied and rushed directly to a bar nearby that was typically pretty calm, but that night it was overcrowded._

_"I wonder what's going on... it's never like this." Sam complained looking around for seats, but found none, leaving them standing with their drinks at a circular bar table with no chairs._

_"It's fine." Rori assured her before smiling slyly to herself, "I just hope Yamcha gets here before he loses his drink."_

_"Why would he-" Sam started, but cut herself off after she turned her head from gawking at all the people in the bar, back to Rori who was almost finished with her own beer already, "Oh."_

_As Rori grinned and finished her beer, Sam had managed to steal a bar stool and took a seat, before looking across the table at her friend, "I forgot how much you pack away... what planet did you say you were from again?"_

_Rori stuck her tongue out at Sam and was about to have a little sip of Yamcha's beer before she felt a hand on her shoulder. Rori had been hit on before at bars and by now she had been prepared to shut down all kinds of strange men, but nothing could have prepared her for this guy._

_"Hey, you can really pack it away for such a scrawny thing!" The man said before she turned to face the ever loud 'Champion' Hercule. The man laughed unabashedly at her now that he saw her face, "Oh, I see why now. You're that sports model for all the new fighting gear. My little girl really likes you, she always wants to wear your clothes, but she doesn't fit in them yet."_

_At first Rori had planned to brush the guy off, but now she wasn't sure if he was actually trying to hit on her or just be friendly. She decided to feel this out a bit more and just smiled politely, "Thanks... It's nice to see you're teaching your daughter it's not just a man's sport."_

_When that's all she said to him, the man seemed to be a bit perturbed, as if she should know who he was or say something more. Rori glanced at Sam who was also doing something weird with her face that she wasn't sure what to make of and was grateful when Yamcha arrived pushing his way through the crowd to get to them. When he stopped next to Rori her looked up at Hercule who from his perspective appeared to be towering over 'his' girl._

_"Hey, you drank my beer!" Yamcha exclaimed to Rori, edging himself in between her and Hercule._

_This only made Hercule furious, did they not know who he was or something? He tapped Yamcha's shoulder making him turn back around. For a moment the two argued, Yamacha insisting that lots of guy wanted to talk to Rori and if he wanted to he should take a number behind the rest. Hercule prattling on about he was someone exceptional and how dare Yamcha get in between the Champ and his winning night's conquest._

_Rori rolled her eyes and took this opportunity to steal some more Yamcha's drink. She knew Yamcha could handle himself, especially with a weirdo like that. Meanwhile, Sam pushed a second stool over to her._

_"What is this guy on about?" Rori shook her head, not getting why this Hercule was so upset. Yamcha had gotten rid of a lot of guys that tried to hit on her before, but none had put up this much of a fight._

_"He's the new World Champion... he just won. It was on the radio today. Didn't you hear?" Sam explained._

_"The World Champion in what?" she shrugged her shoulders causing Sam to audibly sigh with frustration._

_"Rori you live on this planet now! You have to learn some of the things that are going on here! Though I'm surprised Yamcha appears to be as clueless as you are." Sam commented watching the two still arguing, "He's the World Martial Arts Champion. As someone pushing those products, you oughta know that. Now get in the ring before Yamcha does something stupid."_

_Rori sighed and hopped down from the stool, looking down at herself kind of embarrassed that she was still in her clothes from the set, a red baseball cap, black sports bra, cut off fighting gloves, yoga pants, a red jacket tied around her waist, and sneakers. She looked like she was going for a run, not a night out. Rori made her way over just as Hercule was challenging Yamcha to a fight._

_"I'll take that challenge." Rori answered in Yamcha's place causing Hercule throw his head back for a hearty laugh._

_"Don't be ridiculous! I'm the Champion. I know you must do a lot to keep in shape for that clothing line, and that's great and all, but this is the real deal. Besides I'm not going to hit a girl."_

_That really struck a nerve with her, especially after putting up with that set director all day. Not to mention this guy had a daughter. What was he teaching her? Rori was about to show Hercule that even though he wouldn't hit a girl, she definitely would hit a boy, but calmed herself when she heard his suggestion._

_"I'll tell you what. I'll arm wrestle you, but don't complain if I hurt your arm and you can't work." Hercule taunted inviting her over to a reserved table, surrounded by ropes that kept his fans in the bar at arms length._

_"All right." Rori smirked and followed him over, Sam and Yamcha following to watch, but getting stuck outside of the rope ring._

_Sam got out her phone whispering over to Yamcha, "I'm definitely getting this on tape. The other girls aren't going to believe me when I tell them this..."_

_Yamcha rolled his eyes, "What's the big deal?"_

_"Do you people live under a rock?!" Sam exclaimed._

_"Now I won't hit a girl, but I'm not going to go easy on you either." Hercule cautioned as he set his arm down on the table, palm open waiting for her, "It's ok if you want to back down, I know you have an image to maintain. I'll tell you what, just give me a kiss and we'll call it even."_

_Rori laughed and planted her opposite arm down firmly on the table. This she was familiar with. Even though she came from a different planet, she used to arm wrestle Raditz all the time when he came home. He would always let her win, but this would be a real win for her. Easy street._

_"Don't worry about me. It's not just beer that I can throw back." she put her hand in his waiting for the count down. Before they had even started, the room full of people had stopped what they were doing to crowd behind Yamcha and Sam, trying see what the Martial Arts Champ was doing arm wrestling a girl._

_As soon as Sam counted down to 1, Hercule used all his force, ready for an easy win, but he found that her arm didn't even budge. Not an inch. He tried again to put some more force in it and still nothing. It was like he was up against a brick wall. He looked up and met her eyes, seeing a smug smile form on her face. She wasn't even trying. He quickly looked over to the crowd watching from a distance and then back at her whispering, "what kind of trick are you using?"_

_"Did I ever tell you that my brother used to be the world martial arts champion...?" she asked making her eyes big and innocent, like it had slipped her mind._

_Hercule's face faltered shook his head, "but still-"_

_"You're out of your league. Trust me, there's no other trick to it than that, but I'll tell you what. I know you have an image to keep, so I'll let you win if you promise to leave us alone and make sure your daughter knows that she has a good a chance as any man does when she grows up."_

_"I don't think-" Hercule started to argue, but as soon as he did, she began pushing his hand effortlessly toward the table and he changed his mind under the heat of all the bystanders, "Ok, ok. Promise."_

_Rori smiled and let up her grip, letting Hercule push her arm all the way down on the table before he stood up in his victory arms in the air. The crowd cheered his name. Rori stood up after him, shrugging to Yamcha who knew and Sam who only had an idea of what had just happened._

_"Good match. You really are the champion, huh?" Rori teased Herucle, as he laughed uncomfortably._

_"Yeah, well you almost had me there, but you know I couldn't let you win no matter how cute you are!" he continued to laugh awkwardly as his fans thought he had actually let her think she was going to win._

_"Oh well, maybe next time?" Rori pat him on the back hard enough for him to know not to push his luck, but not hard enough that she would send him flying. She hopped down from the step in front of the reserved table, coming out from behind the ropes and left the bard shortly after with Yamcha._

"I don't know..." Yamcha commented, "Maybe he needs to learn his lesson again?"

Before Hercule could finish his bragging the television cut back to the Cell Games Arena. "Breaking News! Cell has asked our brave reporter Duke to come into the ring so he get a message out to the future challengers of the Cell Games!"

"A word of caution for a companion of mine who plans on hiding or skipping the tournament. There is no hiding. There is no waiting. I will find you and I can light this world ablaze in the process or I can make it quick and painless. Though I actually might enjoy the former, the choice is yours."

Rori stared at Cells face that remained on the screen after he spoke. She stood up from her spot on the floor.

"Rori, he's just taunting you." Yamcha argued.

"Yamcha, if I don't go now... he's going to know something is up. I'm going to the Cell Games." she said as she went into her room closing the door behind her.

"What now?" he questioned knowing she knew it was a few days before the Cell Games would begin.

"Huh?" she questioned as Yamcha heard her rummaging through her things in her room, "No, no. Now I'm going to pay my brother a little visit. There's something I still need to learn from him before I'm sure I'm ready."

When she opened the door Yamcha was a bit shocked to find her in the clothes she was wearing when she first came to earth, but decided not to comment. It was a smaller version of Raditz's armor down to the red bands of ribbon around one of her legs and arms. She was lucky Bulma had helped her make a similar armor after Piccolo had destroyed the original years ago.

"Well don't overdo it." Yamcha cautioned, "That brother of yours can be a little intense when it comes to training."

"Right..." she smiled. _Oh, you have no idea, Yamcha..._ she thought as she left to find Goku.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hello all, thanks for the nice reviews and kudos again. I'm really glad you're all still enjoying this. So, I'm adding a few side plots that I thought I was going to add sometime after the story because I know everyone wants to see Piccolo and Rori back together, but then I thought they might be a little too important to leave out in regards to Rori's odd relationship with certain characters. Mainly Vegeta, Yamcha, Hercule, and a certain brother of hers that she'll be seeing in the next chapter. The next chapter "Highway to Hell" will be another side plot and if all goes according to plan after that the Cell Games will commence.


	23. Highway to Hell

Highway to Hell

Goku stared back at his hopeful looking sister, while scratching the back of his head. He hadn't seen her in her Saiyan uniform since she arrived on Earth. Now, she wanted him to take her to see King Kai? What would she even want to see King Kai for? She couldn't train to learn any of the Kai's techniques in less than a week. Not to mention Chichi would kill him if he disappeared again. He'd already promised his wife that he and Gohan would spend the week with her, like a normal family, no training. It was already a stretch to get her to let him and Gohan stay in their Super Saiyan forms.

"Rori... I'm not even sure it's possible to take you to see King Kai... You've never died." Goku concluded, " besides Chichi would-"

"Oh, c'mon Goku! What could go wrong? If it's not possible, it's not possible. Can't you at least try? And you won't be gone long, I promise. I only need the ride, you don't have to stay." Rori pleaded.

"I guess I could try..." Goku shrugged his shoulders and raised his two fingers to his forehead, motioning her to hold on to him. Rori came over putting her hand on his shoulder and he smirked, "but don't say I didn't warn you if you can't learn King Kai's techniques that quickly. It took me a couple of months."

Within seconds they were on King Kai's Planet and Goku turned to make sure she was still there. Rori sank down into the ground a bit when she first made contact with the Kai's planet, "Whoa!"

Goku laughed, "I guess you don't have to die to come here, you just need instant transmission."

As Rori caught her balance from the gravity shift, King Kai walked out of his house with Bubbles following behind. Bubbles was the first to notice Goku, running past a confused looking King Kai.

"Goku what are you doing here?" he cried, never liking unexpected visitors. He took a closer look and saw someone else with Goku, "Is that your sister?! Goku you can't bring people who are alive here!"

Goku blinked, "What? Why not? She's here so that means she can be here right?"

King Kai began to yell at Goku, while Bubbles went over to make friends with Rori, "You can't bring someone living here. This is the other world. The after world! "

"Why what will happen?" Goku questioned.

King Kai took a moment and thought about it, "I'm not actually sure... You're the first one to do it, but it's forbidden. This world is sacred Goku, you can't just stop in whenever you want and bring whoever."

"C'mon King Kai. She just wants to learn some new techniques from you."

King Kai started to study the other Saiyan, pondering it.

"Actually..." Rori looked over at the two from her crouched position, where she was scratching behind Bubbles' ears, "I didn't come to ask train with King Kai... I wanted to go see my brother..."

Goku arched his brow, "but... I'm right here."

Rori stood up and shook her head walking over to the two with Bubbles, now following her, "No, not you, our brother... Radditz... I thought maybe King Kai could help me find him over here. You said you'd been to hell before Goku, right? So that means I can find him."

Goku looked a bit concerned at this, "Why would you want to find Radditz? Last time we saw him he tried to kill everyone on Earth."

Rori nodded, "Yes, but he was teaching me a technique before that I thought might be helpful. If I can find him, maybe I can learn it."

Goku's look darkened a bit, remembering how crazy his brother seemed when he came to Earth. Goku had given him several opportunities to get away, but it was apparent the guy was just evil, "Maybe it would be safer if you just tried to learn the Kaioken here. It's a strong technique."

"Yes, but.." Rori eyed King Kai who was now looking at her with speculation wondering what the but was to his technique, "no offense King Kai, it's actually more of an anatomy problem... Goku, male Saiyans are better with techniques like that one... ones that give you a boost to your physical strength and stamina... but as a female I'm much better with ki techniques than with physical ones."

King Kai started to size her up again and then smirked, "Have you ever even used a ki blast?"

Goku laughed, "of course she has... she's a Super Phoenix... there was that time when... no... well when Frieza... oh wait... Rori have you never used a ki blast?"

Rori shook her head, "I can only make the small ones... nothing big like your Kamehameha... Radditz was teaching me, but we were always on Frieza's ship so I couldn't without blowing up a part of it."

King Kai sighed and went into his house, making noise as he was rummaging through his things for something, "Aha found it!"

When King Kai returned, he put a wrist band on Rori's arm, "I can't guarantee that you'll find Radditz before it's time for the tournament, but when you go down to hell, if you press this button, you'll be transported back to my planet, then I can contact Goku to come bring you back."

"Thanks, King Kai!" Rori smiled, now one step closer to finding Radditz.

"As long as Goku promises that this is the last little visit like this, you can use it." King Kai looked over to Goku, who nodded.

"Promise!"

"Alright, now I'll see if I can find your brother... it shouldn't be too hard since we can narrow it down to Earth's hell" King Kai searched with his antennae for a few moments, before he found Radditz, "found him... he's not far but you might have your work cut out for you... he's at the Lake of Reflection..."

"What does that mean?" Rori questioned.

"You'll see soon enough." he chuckled and pointed up towards snake way, "now just follow snake way until you get to the 5,000th scale from here. Once you're there make sure to jump off from the left side as far as you can go. The clouds will pull you down before you can get far enough, but you should be close from there."

Rori hugged Goku and smiled, "See you when it's time for the fight?"

"If you're sure... be careful down there..." Goku waved to her watched her leave, as she took a big leap up onto snake way and started her journey. He looked over to King Kai, "Maybe I should go with her. I don't like the thought of her alone with Radditz after what happened when he came to Earth..."

"Oh I wouldn't worry to much about him... but it's up to you." King Kai shrugged, "As long as you get off my planet!"

* * *

King Kai had been right. It hadn't taken Rori long to find her way. When she landed she was in the middle of a golden field filled with sprites and fairies dancing around, playing, singing and having fun. She blinked and took a look around. This couldn't be right. Did she make a mistake? No, King Kai said jump off the left side. Maybe she miscounted one of the dragon's scales because this was not the image of hell she had in her mind. Who would think this was a horrible place? She went up to one of the sprites and cleared her throat.

"Umm... Excuse me... I'm just visiting... I think I'm in the wrong place. I'm supposed to be in hell."

The sprite nodded in agreement. So, yup, this was Earth's hell.

"I'm sorry, but how can this be hell?" She couldn't help but question and the sprite pointed her in the direction of a ball cocoon hanging from a tree. When she got a look at who was in it Rori couldn't help but laugh, "Frieza?!"

Frieza had been keeping his eyes closed humming to himself hoping to keep some semblance of sanity and evil. When Frieza realized who was there, his eyes immediately shot open narrowing them to the sound of her voice, "Finally! Get me out of this thing quick!"

"Why, exactly, would I do that?" she crossed her arms glaring up at him, "You're not exactly in the position to be giving orders anymore. Even if you were out of that cocoon."

"...Please?" he tried, hating the taste of the polite term on his tongue, "GET ME OUT OF THIS THING!"

"Well, it was nice seeing you for once." Rori waved and turned back to the sprite, "So I'm looking for the Lake of Reflection... Do you know how to get there?"

The sprite pointed off toward a dark mountain in the distance, where the sky had turned from its pink color to a deep blue with black clouds.

"Ohhhhhkay... Well thanks." With that Rori headed off toward the mountain. As she left she could hear Frieza pleading with her in the background to get him out of the cocoon and she smiled slightly to herself, thinking a little time to reflect in that cocoon might do Frieza some good.

* * *

Radditz wasn't quite sure how long he'd been dead for at this point, or for that matter how long he'd been in this abysmal dimly lit place, but it had been long enough to weigh on his conscience. He remembered that when he first arrived, he was very stubborn and arrogant about his death. Even though it took two of those Earthlings to kill him, they'd still managed it. Well... technically one was a Namekian the other was a Saiyan, but it shouldn't have mattered. What made it worse was how they had teamed up with his sister. Yes, Kakarot was his brother too, but he was long gone to the Saiyans by now, calling himself an Earthling. When he'd first arrived in hell, Radditz was angry with those two. His brother for being weak-minded and his sister for betraying him for that Namekian. If they had just listened to him... He was their older brother, he was the authority figure. They should have fallen in line. No, he was not in the wrong here, or at least that was what he'd thought at first.

Radditz stared at his reflection in the lake. He'd been at this same spot now for so long. Nothing chained him there, but he couldn't have moved away even if he wanted. It was as if an unknown force was keeping him bound there to stare down at his own reflection. Soon he saw a familiar face in the waters appear from behind him. His sister's figure walked up from behind him, now looking down in the water's reflection as well. He watched as her hand reached down and she ran her fingers through the tips of his hair, her voice reverberating off the water, "There you are! I've been looking for you."

"Why am I not surprised?" he answered, keeping his face hard as stone as he met her eyes, not turning from the water to look back at her, but he slapped her hand away from his hair. Rori moved her offending hand to her hip smiled a slow sly smile.

Radditz kept his eye contact with her, but he didn't budge. Before long Kakarot appeared behind him on his other side, crossing his arms, "Haven't you learned anything?"

"I don't have to take this. I've already said my peace." Radditz responded.

"You can leave whenever you want. No one's holding you here, you know?" Goku replied smirking as held his hands up wiggling his fingers to show his older brother that he could go, but Radditz didn't move.

Rori knelt down next to Radditz, slinging her arm around his shoulder, "but you won't leave will you?" She waited for an answer, but none came. He couldn't deny it and he also couldn't explain why he stayed. She laughed pushing him away, "No you won't leave. You like it here. You like the reminder don't you? The reminder that you can't live up to the fact that you failed us."

"He can't live at all, sis. He's dead remember?" Goku corrected and poked the side of Radditz's head, "isn't that right? Not like you didn't take some of us out with you though. You must have been proud to know that you killed not only one of the last remaining members of your race, but your own little brother?"

"I think dad would be proud of him." Rori concluded nodding her head, "Actually, I know he would be proud of him. Look at all of his astounding accomplishments. Forgetting about his brother until it was convenient for him and then killing him, letting his sister get betrothed to the Saiyan's mortal enemy, then letting her run off with a low-level Namekian and when he finds out, he tells her to be a good little whore and obey him."

Rori started to undress, "This is what you wanted right?"

"Stop it!" Radditz yelled causing her to cease her actions, all but her laughter, "That wasn't me. You were still in heat, Rori! It was your scent and you know it! I would never do that to you!"

"Oh, please!" Goku laughed and shook his head, "I was there too and I didn't try anything with our poor little sister."

"You had mate already!" Radditz yelled, "It wouldn't affect you!"

"Oooo, should we add that to the list too?" Rori questioned Goku.

"Hmph, couldn't even find a mate before his younger siblings. Pathetic." Goku laughed.

"That's beside the point, bro. He completely abandoned you and wasn't even aware enough to notice the trouble I was in." Rori regressed.

"Stop!" Radditz called again, "I just wanted to-"

"You failed!" Goku yelled cutting him off.

"Nothing, but excuses from this one. How disappointing." Rori sighed.

It was always the same. Radditz always started out strong, not giving into their banter. He knew they weren't real, but the things they were saying... The things they accused him of... before long the thought would come to him: Had he not been right? Did they really believe those were his intentions? Did his sister really not know he had just wanted to protect her? Did his brother not know that Radditz hadn't known any other way to show him how to be strong? What would his father think of him after he had let this happen to his siblings... to him? And in that moment the mirages would break him and he'd shout at them. He'd apologize for what they'd thought he'd done. He'd bargain with them hoping that they would forgive him, but they never did. They would just disappear for a little while, until he would calm himself enough to start all over again.

* * *

When Rori finally arrived, she found Radditz sitting before the lake, staring into it looking completely entranced. She walked up next to him, but he didn't appear to notice her. Rori looked down to the lake and noticed that there was no reflection of them in it, even though she was standing so close to it. _Lake of Reflection, my ass..._ she thought to herself.

"SHUT UP! That's not what I meant! " Radditz suddenly shouted at the water, startling his sister. Rori approached him cautiously now.

"Radditz?" she tried, but he didn't respond. She waved her hand in front of his face, but nothing would break his trance.

"You're not them!" he finally shouted again after moments of silence causing Rori to get even more concerned. What was going on with this lake? It looked normal to her, but obviously it was not normal to her brother.

"Radditz!" she screamed grabbing on to his face with both hands and turned his head towards her.

Radditz continued to stare with glazed eyes for a few seconds, before blinking and backing up, "how did you do that?! Don't get any closer! You can't come out of the lake! You've never done that before!"

Rori blinked looking at the lake and then back to Radditz, "I didn't come from the lake... I came from up there."

Radditz watched as his sister pointed up to the clouds. What would that mean? "You're telling me... she's dead?"

"Who's dead?" she asked.

"My-my sister."

"I'm not dead. I just came to find you, Radditz." Rori explained, "I'm still alive."

"Is this some new way to torture me!? Make me think I have a way out?! You're not her!" Radditz yelled before he turned to look back at the water.

"No!" Rori yelled, dragging him by his armor away from the lake, "I don't know what that lake is doing to you, but you need to stop looking at it!"

Radditz wasn't sure what to believe, but he let her drag him away from it. He hadn't the courage to walk away himself, but he wouldn't stop her. This didn't seem possible though. The mirages had always touched him in the reflections, but he'd never felt any contact and they'd never managed to move him. Was this really Rori or had the mirages evolved?

"There!" Rori exclaimed, once she'd dragged him into a forest and away from the lake. He sat up looking at her with skepticism as she sat down next to him, " that should be far enough... what the heck was that lake doing to you?"

When Radditz didn't answer and just continued to stare at her, she knew King Kai was right again and she had her work cut out for her, "you don't trust me, huh?"

No answer came. Rori sighed, "I can't say I'd blame you... I let Piccolo and our brother kill you and even helped them... but... I just- What were you thinking Radditz?! Trying to get Goku to destroy his planet. Trying to make me leave my mate. You know how sacred that is to the upper class Saiyans... whether I was meant to be Vegeta's mate or not you knew it was too late! And a Namekian would be considered better than any Earthling!"

"I've been explaining it to you for however long I've been down here! How many times do I have to apologize?! How many times do I have to explain it to you?!" Radditz stood up in a rage ready to either fight her or leave, "you two think you can continue to torture me like this?! You know the answer! You've heard it countless times by now! Fine! Let's go countless times and one! I would never do that to you Rori! It was because you were in still heat, it lasts longer than when you find your mate, you know! That's how upper class female Saiyans assure they find the strongest mate, when there's no one left to kill the current one before your heat is over! And no, Kakarrot did not try anything because he already had a mate! And I wanted to get you two off of Earth at any cost because you wouldn't be safe! Not with those weaklings! You would have been safer when I found Vegeta and Nappa and we figured out what to do! Frieza blew up our own plant and you thought you could hide out on Earth with a Namekian and Kakarot?! As soon as Frieza found out where you were, he would have come to Earth, blown it up anyway, our brother and your mate included, and taken you with him... and he probably would have killed me to just for the fun of it. So, actually... I'm done apologizing to you! I'm done apologizing to Kakarot! This is what I get for trying to protect my siblings?! An eternity of torture? Who needs it?!"

Rori stared at him speechless for a moment before she knew what to say to get through to him, "Radditz... Frieza's dead. Goku took him out."

"...the Namekian...?"

"No, no... Kakarrot... He changed his name to Goku on Earth." she explained.

Radditz laughed, "Now I'm certain you're a mirage!"

Rori shook her head standing up and pointing down the mountain, "Radditz, he's down there in stuck in a field of teddy bears and fairies singing to him... It's pretty funny, actually."

Radditz raised his brow with a smirk. He wasn't sure he believed her yet, but this was something new... something different from the past years. He'd play along for now, "Really...? That's fitting... then what are you doing here... you said you weren't dead?"

"A lot has happened since you've been down here..." Rori didn't know where to begin.

"How long is that?"

"Well..." Rori started to count, she wasn't quite sure herself, "6 Earth years, I think."

"And our weakling brother killed Frieza...?"

"Wellllll... he kind of gave him a second chance like he did with you... but he could have killed him... he ascended to super saiyan, he even beat Vegeta too."

Radditz stared at her a moment, his little brother a Super Saiyan? It was hard to believe. "I knew this was just another mirage..."

"No.. really! And he's not the only one!" Rori commented before turning into a Super Phoenix. She knew it wouldn't be a good idea for too long, now that she knew she was pregnant, but a few seconds to get him to believe her wouldn't hurt.

Radditz didn't quite know how to react. He was partially upset that he'd not been able to do it himself, that his younger siblings had surpassed him, but proud at the same time, "then who killed Frieza?"

"Vegeta's son killed him later."

"Vegeta's son is not yours?"

"No, no. Vegeta's with an Earthling. My mate's the Namekian remember?" she teased.

"Well... I guess it's better than an Earthling." he repeated her with a smirk.

_I wonder how he feels about_ _android_ s... she thought herself, but kept that one to herself. "We managed to get rid of Frieza, but there's someone on Earth much stronger than him now... I'm not sure we're going to be able to save the planet... Vegeta's even been working with us to stop this guy, Cell, but it might be impossible... Even so everyone needs to be at their top game... so I thought you might help me train."

"If you could take a run a Frieza and ascend to Super Saiyan, there's nothing I can help you with Rori." Radditz concluded.

"I don't think that's true... You were teaching me some stunning ki techniques before I left... I didn't finish them."

"Well I'll give it a shot... even if you're not real... this is better than the lake." Radditz concluded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Soooooo, that was a long time... Sorry about that. I had way too much going on and I might still have quite a bit until into the mid-summer, but I'll try my best to keep these coming out. I haven't lost interest and DB Super's actually given me a few ideas to continue this past the Cell Saga. Thanks for your patience. This is the last one before the Cell Games start. And Radditz might be coming back for good after this. Well you'll all let me know if you think that's the right move, I'm sure. But I can't help but get an image of protective uncle Radditz... for Rori and Piccolo's eventual child.
> 
> And thanks for all the comments. Someone asked me to write something about 17 and his family. I'll be sure to add that in around super, but it might be awhile... but coming up soon, after the cell games, for whoever asked for 18 and Krillin's story, that will be happening... and we'll see a little more of 17 vs Piccolo at the same time.
> 
> :P Again your patience was so appreciated! If you have anything you want to see you can always ask, I wouldn't have tried to add the 18 and Krillin angle if it wasn't requested, so I do take your feedback into account, even if it might take a bit of time. :)


	24. Don't Act Like You Know Me

It had taken almost the whole time before the start of the Cell Games for Rori to convince Radditz that she wasn't just a mirage. Yes, he had trained her nonetheless, but he took no interest in her other than the training, until she started to get tired unusually quickly. This caused him to reluctantly start asking questions, and when she'd explained that she was pregnant, she was not expecting a very positive remark from her big brother. Not after what had happened when he'd found out that Piccolo was her mate. This time however, he just smirked placed one of his palms on the top of her head ruffling her hair like he would when they were on Frieza's ship. It was then that she not only knew he'd finally started to believe it was really her, but that he really wasn't himself when he'd come to Earth the last time. Before she'd never really questioned his strange behavior, she'd only reacted to it, and tried to forget it. Now she was feeling guilty for not picking up on it before.

After Radditz found out she was pregnant, they took training a bit slower, much to Rori's dismay. She worried that she wouldn't learn his ki techniques in time, but he reminded her if she was out of commission, it wouldn't matter if she couldn't learn his Weekend or Vacation Delete techniques. So, she complied.

After what seemed like days of training Rori had finally pulled her fist back, her eyes widening with delight as she saw how it turned all sparkly and pink ready to send out one Radditz's ultmiate attacks back on him. Before she could release her attack, she heard King Kai's voice, "Rori, Goku's here to take you back."

Rori let her ki go, her hand falling to her side returning to normal. She sighed before replying to King Kai, "I'll be right there."

"So, you're leaving?" Radditz concluded after hearing King Kai's voice as well.

"It looks like it's that time..." Rori swung one of her arms at her side the other crossing at her chest holding her bicep, unsure of how she was supposed to say goodbye to her brother, knowing where he was staying, "Promise you won't go back near that lake? You don't need to put yourself through that. I forgive you and I'm sure Goku would too..."

He stayed silent for a moment, before looking down the mountain, "they tell you when you arrive that if you repent you can get out of here... but if I did that would mean I'd become someone else..."

"You don't want that?" Rori questioned, seeing that this didn't seem to put him at ease. He didn't answer.

"Radditz, if you want I'll wish you back with the dragon balls." she explained, "We've done it before. And I know you won't try to blow up a planet Prince Vegeta is calling home, right?"

"We'll see. If you can't beat this Cell, there's no use in getting my hopes up is there?" he questioned, "For now, I think I'll go pay Frieza a little visit."

"I guess either way, I'll be seeing you soon." Rori smiled at him, waving goodbye, before using her wristband to poof back to King Kai's planet.

* * *

Back at the lookout, Piccolo waited while all the Z fighters began to arrive. By now Vegeta had already come and gone, eager to arrive at the scene before the others. Trunks was waiting with Krillin and before long Yamcha and Tien arrived as well.

"Isn't the Lookout out of the way for you two?" Krillin asked arching a brow.

"Yes, it is." Tien answered in a tone of annoyance as he shot a glare at Yamcha.

"Rori went training with Goku... so I thought I'd bring her a Senzu, if she didn't already have one..." Yamcha said sheepishly, rubbing the back of is head.

Piccolo arched a brow at this, not due to Yamcha's actions, but because he hadn't sensed Rori and Goku training at any point over the past week. He was also certain that they weren't in the Time Chamber either because he himself hadn't left the Lookout. If she was there he would have known. Was Rori actually listening to his advice and doing some meditating? Perhaps her and Goku had been training with their minds?

A few moments later, Goku arrived with Gohan in toe. Piccolo lost his train of thought when saw Gohan and remembered that the young Saiyan was wearing the same training gear as him. He had been touched when Gohan had asked to wear his fighting gear, though he would admit that to no one. His pride had taken a beating for a while after he'd learned that he wouldn't become a father and watching Goku's lack of parental skills had only caused past vulnerabilities to resurface in his mind. The world was unfair, Piccolo's father had made sure to impart that little bit of wisdom on him. Those undeserving always seemed to have what the deserving did not. It was the way of things and he'd learned to deal with it a long time ago, but it still stung to know that Goku could have what he couldn't and at times he didn't even appear to appreciate it. When Gohan had walked over to him in need of new clothes, Piccolo had expected him to ask for a gi like his father's, but no he'd asked for one like Piccolo's. Maybe the world was unfair, maybe he would never have a son of his own, but he had Gohan. And Piccolo had never been certain that he really had Gohan before that moment.

His lips tugged back into almost a smile when the two Saiyans arrived, but he quickly he suppressed it so no one would notice.

"Hey, guys! Why the long faces?" Goku asked looking around at one unhappy looking group of fighters.

Krillin explained to him how Dende had made the dragon balls with 2 wishes like they'd asked, but the dragon balls wouldn't be able to bring back someone who'd already died. As usual, Goku laughed this off, acting as if there was no imminent threat ahead that they were about to face.

"Well let's get going then." Goku started for the edge of the Lookout.

"Wait!" Yamcha called out causing Goku to turn back, "Where's Rori? Weren't you training with her?"

Goku's eyes got wide, "Oh...shoot... Be back in a minute!" With that he disappeared.

The group of fighters waited for longer than a minute, wondering exactly what had happened. Gohan gave an exasperated sigh, "he forgot Aunt Rori..."

"Forgot?" Trunks arched a brow, "How could he forget her if they were training together... couldn't she have just come with you guys?"

"No, she went to King Kai's so she could find Radditz and train with him." Gohan explained.

"What?! She shouldn't be going there! What if..." Yamcha stopped mid-sentence as everyone was looking at him now like he was over-reacting and he remembered Rori had asked them to keep this quiet for now.

"What if what?" Piccolo glared over at Yamcha when he didn't finish his sentence.

"Uh...heh heh... what if..." he tried his best to fill in that sentence, "she's too tired now? She caught a cold before she left..."

Before Piccolo could grill Yamcha any further, there was a poof and Goku and Rori appeared in its place.

"All right...  _now_  everyone is here..." Goku laughed.

"Wait, did you forget about me?" Rori glared at her brother.

"Well... yeah..." Goku admitted.

Rori shrugged her shoulders, "I forgot a bit too..."

As everyone headed off toward the Cell Games, Yamcha grabbed Rori's wrist hanging back for a second with her, "You went to the other world? You didn't over do it, did you?"

Rori shook her head, "No... I'm a little bit tired though..."

"Here." Yamcha held out a Senzu bean for her, "I'm not sure this will help keep you from being tired, but it'll give you some energy back."

"Thanks, Yamcha" she took the bean and it was as he said, she felt the energy she'd lost from training come back to her, but the fatigue that came with her pregnancy could not be gotten rid of so easily.

"Just... make sure you stick by one of us, you know, just in case." he offered.

Rori nodded. She knew he was right, she wasn't about to argue. The two headed off and caught up with the rest of the group quickly. Soon Piccolo fell back in line until he was near Rori, "You're not maintaining your phoenix form?"

 _Shit._  She'd forgotten about that. Now really wasn't the right time to explain to Piccolo that he would be a father as long as they don't die. "Oh... well, I don't actually think it's necessary anymore. I've learned something that will be more useful if I'm not a Super Saiyan."

Rori didn't wait for another question and sped up until she was next to Trunks. "Vegeta's not here?"

Trunks shook his head, "no... he kind of stormed off ahead of us... Not that it was unexpected, but he told me I shouldn't bother coming after the last trick I pulled. When I said I'm coming and that I've learned from it... he told me I'm as stubborn as you and just left. Know what that's about?"

"No idea!" Rori laughed nervously. She knew that Vegeta would be upset not only when she showed up, but when his son did as well, but she didn't think he was still this angry. Vegeta was a Saiyan after all, he knew Rori or Trunks wouldn't want to back down. It wasn't in a Saiyan's nature. At the very least, she concluded Vegeta hadn't told Trunks what Cell had been planning for them. She thought it was for the best, but she sensed with Vegeta's attitude that he was likely regretting that decision.

It wasn't long before they all landed near Cell's tournament ring. While everyone had expected to see Vegeta waiting, Rori was surprised to see not only Mr. Satan and a camera crew, but also Android 16, looking like new. Krillin headed immediately over to the Android followed by Rori and Goku.

"Hey 16, looks like they fixed you up real good." Krillin said holding out his hand. The gentle android smiled at the Krillin and shook his hand, before looking Rori over. He smirked focusing on the mid-section then back up to her face, "It looks like you're feeling better too... the both of you..."

Rori's eyes widened a bit. She'd forgotten that Bulma had been working on Android 16 when Vegeta had brought her by. At the time she'd though he was completely out, but apparently he hadn't been as out of it as she'd thought. She chose her words carefully knowing Piccolo might overhear. Luckily Krillin didn't appear to understand the hidden meaning and without even knowing it he helped her out.

"Yeah we're doing as well as we can before the end of the world... It's not like we haven't looked death in the eyes before. I think were getting pretty good at it now, don'tchya think?" Krillin asked elbowing Rori in the side, having understood 'both' to mean the two of them and not Rori and her baby.

"Yeah..." Rori smiled with a sigh of relief. 16 just winked at her knowing his little joke would go over Krillin's head.

Goku stepped out from behind them offering his hand to 16, "I'm glad to see you're doing better. Let's do our best."

Suddenly the androids face turned stoic. He didn't share the same caring demeanor toward Goku as he had with Krillin and Rori. 16 simply glared at the Saiyan, "Goku... Do not forget I was created to destroy you."

While Goku was going over the fighting order with the rest of the group, Rori happened to notice Hercule was not planning on waiting. He was getting ready to jump right into the ring and get himself killed. She sighed, contemplating for a moment just letting him see for himself that he was out of his league. Still, she felt she had to try. Rori walked over towards the side of the ring where Hercule was preparing, but before she could get anywhere near him, the reporter swung his microphone in her face.

"Isn't this sweet, Son Seirori the sports model had made her way to the champs side of the ring. Are you here to cheer on the champ, today?" The reporter asked.

At first Rori was a little taken back by the name 'Son', but then she remembered Yamcha had given her agent her brother's last name when he'd helped her find her job.

"Why would I do that?" Rori asked looking over to Hercule who was now giving her a pleading look once he realized she was actually there.

"Well, it was all over the tabloids months ago about your arm wrestling match. Sources say you've had a secret relationship ever since." The reporter waggled his brow waiting for a response.

"Sources, huh?" Rori immediately glared at Hercule.

Hercule began to give a loud nervous laugh, "You can't believe everything in those magazines."

Rori looked at the camera, then at the microphone in her face. She grabbed it, glaring daggers at the reporter, "You can tell your sources that I'm here to fight Cell. The only reason I came to this side of the ring was to let this idiot know that he's no match for Cell and if he wants to be around to take care of his daughter, he'd better get out of here."

Rori threw the microphone back and was about to leave, but the reporter smirked and looked to the camera, "It looks like the two are having a lover's quarrel, but our sources inform us that this is not the first and as soon as the champ defeats Cell all will be well for the young couple."

Rori quickly grabbed the mic back, "You can tell your damn sources to get their story straight. I'm with that green guy over there."

Before the reporter could make another comment the camera broke, blowing up in a puff of smoke. Rori looked back to see Piccolo was staring their way. Rori smirked triumphant and threw the microphone, once again, back at the reporter before making her way back to the group.

"Don't hold back your feelings, Rori. We all know you can't resist the Champ," Krillin grinned unable to help himself.

"Oh, shut it, Krillin" she rolled her eyes before mouthing a thanks to Piccolo. He answered her with a nod.

"Alright, I'll go first." Goku said as he began to step into the ring.

By this time the camera man had gotten out another camera and the reporter was yelling over for the 'lightweight' Goku to wait his turn.

Despite Rori and Goku's warnings, Hercule made his way to the ring, his proud chest puffed out. Who did these people think they were. Sure, Rori had appeared to have the upper hand on him in their arm wrestling match, but over time he'd realized that she must have tricked him somehow. There's no way a puny girl like her would have been able to actually hold their own against him. He chuckled to himself as he pulled out a capsule filled with tiles. He'd show them. Hercule began to stack the tiles up until he'd gotten 25 in a row. He made eye contact with Cell before he shouted, "Just wait Cell, this is going to be you if you don't back out!"

"He can't be serious..." Krillin commented unable to tear his eyes away from the ridiculous spectacle that Hercule was about to make out of himself.

Yamcha scoffed, "I shoulda decked him when I had the chance."

"Shouldn't we do something?" Goku questioned.

"There's nothing you can do Goku, this is the only way he'll learn." Rori shrugged her shoulders, though she secretly was rooting for Cell for once.

By now Hercule had karate chopped his way through most of the tiles and was being praised by the reporter at his side.

"Can you believe it, folks! 24 tiles!" the reporter triumphantly shouted, "Looks like Cell will be dealt with in no time!"

What happened next was a surprise to no one, other than Hercule and the reporter. Mr. Satan started toward for Cell, charging at him with full strength, only to be swatted aside like a rag doll into the distant plateau. Cell let out an audible sigh before his eyes shot over to Goku, "Now that that's taken care of, shall we begin the real fight?"

Goku stepped into the ring now agreeing with Cell, that it should be him to start and no one else questioned him. Rori watched her brother intently. She'd liked to have thought that she could hold her own against the mutant android, but she knew that even if she didn't have a baby growing inside her now that she would probably only have been a match for Trunks or Vegeta. Her brother had yet again attained a level that none of the other Saiyans had been able to reach. Still, she couldn't sense that he was anymore powerful than Cell, nor that Cell was the most powerful one among them. It made her wonder if there wasn't someone else she wasn't taking into account. Normally, she could tell right away who was the strongest, she could smell it in the air. But if it wasn't Goku with the power he had now, it would be no one. This was his fight. She was just glad she was around to watch it. She wanted to see him wipe the floor with that psychopath and if their opponent tried anything underhanded, which she wouldn't put past Cell, she'd happily lend a hand in his demise.  _Radditz, if you could see our brother now..._  she thought to herself with a smirk, before she knew what she was doing she lifted her hands around her mouth to make a megaphone affect, "Kick his ass, Goku!"

Both Goku and Cell came out of their intense staring match, turning to her awkward outburst that disrupted the silence before their battle. She felt her face burn red in a blush and choked out a quick 'sorry'. Cell smirked over at her, now knowing that he had really gotten to her the last time they'd spoken. He turned his gaze back to Goku, and in a split second, the two began their fight. Across the field and in the air, the fight quickly became hard to follow to the common eye. The reporter and the cameraman were having a hard time keeping up. The Z fighter however were watching the whole thing, their eyes and ears darting back and forth across the ring. Before long the two fighters landed back into the ring, Goku reached an arm over his head, holding it by the other hand as he stretched a bit.

"That's enough of a warm-up, don't you think?" Goku called across the ring to Cell.

Cell could barely contain his excitement for their match, now that he'd been able to test out Goku's strength, he was sure the Saiyan would be a good opponent and a worthy adversary to unleash his full strength upon, "I suppose you're right."

As the two went back at it, the reporter began to slink his way over toward Rori, sticking the microphone back in her face. "You appear to know this country bumpkin, what tricks are they using now?"

Rori groaned in frustration, "There's no trick and that 'country bumpkin' is my brother."

Before the reporter could make another comment, Hercule was back at the scene explaining how it was nothing but a mere light show and of course Rori couldn't be trusted, she worked in that industry, the fact that she was here was just proof that this whole thing was just a light show.

"You heard it here first folks!" the reporter concluded.

"D'you think Cell didn't kill him because he knew how pissed off that guy would make us?" Krillin muttered.

Yamcha's eyes widened as he turned to Krillin, "He really is evil..."

They all had a good laugh until they heard Goku yelling down from the sky to them, "Get out of there, he's going to blow up the ring!"

Yamcha feeling more protective than ever of Rori since he'd found out about her situation, grabbed her arm and pulled her with him as he flew off to a safe distance, pulling her in close to protect her. Then came the blinding light from Cell's ki blast and when it dissipated Rori found Yamcha hovering over her on the ground, "You ok?"

"Yeah" she nodded, trying to take in what had just happened. She looked over Yamcha's shoulder and found that 16 had unfortunately saved Hercule along with the annoying reporter and cameraman. Her eyes panned over to see Gohan was fine as well standing next to Piccolo, who's eyes briefly met hers before darting back to the fight as if they'd never met.

Piccolo had been watching Yamcha and Rori since they'd arrived. He'd figured out that the two were together now, which should have made him happy. This was technically what he'd wanted, her to be with someone who could give her children. Just not Vegeta... he wasn't good enough for her. Besides they'd probably end up killing each other. And not Krillin... he didn't know why, just not Krillin... And definitely not that Android 17... an android couldn't have kids right? The thing that pissed him off the most about her timely affair with 17 was that fact. He wanted her with someone who could give here what he couldn't... he didn't think 17 was that person. 17 would just bring her down to his level. No, when he'd thought about it, he'd hoped she'd end up with Trunks, he seemed like a good guy... a bit young, but Saiyan so he'd be able to keep up with her... Gohan did train him after all... or Yamcha seemed fine as an alternative. He'd decided he'd be fine with those two. He wouldn't get involved. Yet something about the way Yamcha was treating her was off. Rori could hold her own and she was much stronger than Yamcha. Piccolo supposed he should just be happy that Rori was with someone who was taking care of her not just messing with her like 17. Yet, he couldn't shake off the feeling that something wasn't right there, but then again he was a Namekian... He'd never really understood matters of love. He could barely say he understood how him and Rori came to be something. He tried to explain it away thinking it was just the scent she gave off when she was in heat, but he knew that wasn't the truth. He'd never had the same reaction the Saiyans had around her and he was drawn to her form the second she landed on this planet. No, she just wriggled her way into his life. Penetrating his soul with her eyes, trying to figure him out, like he found her doing now from where she was being protected by Yamcha. He quickly broke her stare turning back to Goku and Cell. He shouldn't be thinking about this now, it wasn't important now. If they survived, then he'd try to find away to get rid of all these damn emotions. This was not in his nature.

As Piccolo turned back to the action, he realized Goku was doing something reckless. He was going to shoot a Kamehameha down at a range that would likely destroy the planet. This wasn't like Goku. Did he not think there was another way? "Goku no! That's too close you'll destroy the planet!"

"He wouldn't!" Krillin shouted unable to believe that Goku would put all of their lives in danger.

"He's going to do it!" Vegeta shouted.

Just before Goku could release the blast he disappeared, only to reappear before Cell with a poof, letting his attack make contact with the android, disintegrating his top half completely. The only thing that was left was a pair of legs on the ground and the bottom half of a torso.

"Yeah he did it!" Yamcha shouted in relief, but he was the only one to cheer, "What's going on. It's over why isn't everyone happy?"

Rori shook her head at him and nodded for him to watch.

"He can regenerate, be careful Goku!" Krillin informed them.

Within seconds, Cell had regenerated back to his full self and the fight proceeded as if it had never stopped.

"This is insane... we had him." Yamcha grumbled.

"Piccolo's cells..." Rori sighed, "He'll have to make sure to take out his whole body next time... though I doubt Cell will give him another opportunity to do that."

The battle went on and before long everyone noticed that Goku appeared to be losing his stamina. Trunks had considered throwing Goku a Senzu bean only to get chewed out by Vegeta for even suggesting something so cowardly. It was then that Piccolo couldn't believe his ears. Had he heard correctly? Of course he had, his big ears weren't just a decoration after all. Goku was forfeiting.

"If this next guy can't beat you, no one can Cell" Goku smiled with pride as he looked over toward Gohan and Piccolo's direction, "You're up, Gohan."

That idiot. The thought went through Piccolo's head several times before he realized it wasn't just going on in his head, it came out of his mouth as well. "You idiot! You're just going to watch that monster kill your only son!" He couldn't believe this. Sure, he had helped train Gohan and encourage him to fight when he needed to, but he would have never sent Gohan in alone against an opponent like Cell. "He's a kid Goku!" Piccolo's could not be more infuriated, cursing Kami that someone like Goku was able to have a son like Gohan and he had to go without. Surely Goku was not deserving. Goku had always been Piccolo's rival, but he had never held more hatred for this man, even when trying to avenge his own father's life, than the hatred he felt in that moment.

"Piccolo, he's got this. He's been training with us since he was little and I trained with him in the Time Chamber and I'm telling you, he's gotten much stronger than even me. Just ask him... Gohan did you think you couldn't keep up with me and Cell?" Goku questioned his son.

"Well.. you weren't going all out though... so of course I thought I could keep up." Gohan admitted.

Piccolo's eyes widened, "...Gohan..."

"I can assure I was giving it all I had... my guess is Cell was too" Goku admitted.

"You can do this Gohan." Goku smiled as his son made his way over to cell, sliding his weighted tunic off over his head.

Rori had been watching as well. She knew Piccolo would be worried about Gohan, but after talking with Gohan recently, she thought this might be his time. He was sick of being treated like a child. His father was giving him his shot. She had completely been with Goku on this one until he threw Cell a Senzu bean. Perhaps it was some new maternal instincts that she wasn't yet aware she possessed, but when she saw Goku toss that bean to Cell something inside her snapped. She stomped over to Goku, who was now paying attention to Piccolo as the Namekian looked like he was ready to scold her brother yet again, and slapped him as hard as she could in the back of his head before anyone else could get a word in, "Are you completely insane?!"

She heard Vegeta snickering in the background saying something about Saiyan hormones. Before she could tell him to shut it, everyone went silent as Gohan unleashed his power. The group looked astonished, all except for Goku, who just stood watching, like the proud father he was.

Gohan and Cell began there fight, which at first looked evenly matched, but soon it became apparent that Gohan didn't want to kill even Cell. He didn't want to fight like his father and he paid for that. Cell would not let up on in. Goku told everyone to just wait until Gohan became angry, but Piccolo couldn't hold back.

"I'm going in if you're not Goku. He's just a child. He's not trying to get angry, he's trying to understand why his father is letting this happen to him. He doesn't like fighting like you do!" Piccolo shouted at him.

Piccolo was about to go in, but Rori couldn't let him. She knew Goku could beat Cell and she wouldn't risk losing Piccolo now. "Goku you're his father! It should be you!"

Piccolo grimaced at her words, but he backed off, though he was now angered that Rori would say something like that in front of him. He knew he wasn't Gohan's father, but still... he didn't like hearing it.

"Krillin... get me a Senzu..." Goku conceded.

Krillin grinned, "Good choice." He reached in for a Senzu, but it was too late. Cell flew over grabbing the bag of beans before anyone could get use out of them.

"What are you doing?!" Gohan shouted.

"Making you mad" Cell retorted.

Cell could not get far with his plan however, because Android 16 jumped in gripping Cell to his body with all his strength, threatening to blow both of them up. Unfortunately, nothing happened. Krillin informed 16 that the bomb had been removed from his body, just before Cell made quick work of discarding the red haired robot, completely disintegrating his body, sending 16's head flying behind him as if he'd been nothing.

Cell then turned to the group watching and counting them. He chuckled before he created mini versions of himself, shooting them out of his back, creating one for each of the Z fighters.

"What are those things?" Krillin shuddered.

"Cell juniors." Cell retorted as if it should be common knowledge, "I was feeling bad that not everyone could participate. Now that won't be an issue."

Trunks floated over toward Rori and whispered in a hushed voice, "Father told me... stick by us and we'll make sure no one gets hurt..."

"No one?" she questioned and then noticed him eyeing her stomach.

She looked back to Yamcha who just nodded to her, "I'll be all right. I'll stick with Tien, you stick with those two." She nodded and flew over with Trunks to Vegeta.

"Perfect, just like me. Play with them as you will Cell Juniors, but be sure not to kill Trunks or Rori. I haven't made up my mind yet." Cell laughed as his minions went after the Z fighters. Cell watched along with Gohan as his minions were having no mercy on the fighters. His regeneration ability wasn't the only thing he'd gotten from Piccolo, he'd also gotten the Namekian's astute perception. Though he'd been fighting Goku and Gohan, he'd also taken note of everyone's behavior from the beginning and had noticed how Rori was no longer in her Phoenix form. He found that odd and then he noticed how Yamcha and Trunks and Vegeta appeared to be keeping tabs on her throughout the match and more so now that he'd sent in the Cell Juniors. Something was amiss.

"Enjoy the show without me for a moment, won't you?" Cell offered to Gohan as he flew up in the air, calling the specific Cell Junior that Rori was fighting to lead her away from the group. As this happened he was sure now that something was up because Vegeta, who was having a hard time with his own Cell Junior tried to call her back. She was too into the fight though and by the time she knocked the Cell Junior to the ground, Rori realized she was now face to face with the real deal.

Cell stared at her, arms crossed, as if trying to figure something out, "Enjoying yourself? What do you think of my Cell Juniors? They put up quite a fight don't they. Still not as strong as I am, but enough to take out all your little friends."

Rori didn't answer, she knew anything she said he would just turn against her.

"Oh you can ignore me all you want, but you're more of a Saiyan than I am... You must be getting a little bit excited." He tried.

"Don't think you know me just because you share some DNA with the rest of us." Rori started unable to hold back, "This is not the kind of fight I enjoy."

"Oh please, you weren't dropped on your head like that brother of yours. No matter what you say, you enjoy a good blood show. I know you do... you're forgetting." Cell came closer to her, but she only rolled her eyes.

" _I know you... very well... and I think you're hiding something..._ " 17's voice came from a smug looking Cell.

Rori just glared back at him. He couldn't know. There's no way he could know, her hand instinctively went to her stomach, as if to protect her child from hearing any of this.

" _You know you can tell me anything. You're mine remember? It'll just be between us_." 17's voice continued trying to coax it out of her.

"Aren't you done with that game? It's tired and I'm not buying it anymore!" Rori spat.

"I know, but it makes you so mad that I can't help myself." Cell let out a content sigh before looking down to the Cell Juniors, "I've decided. You can kill them all except this one!"

Cell looked up making eye contact with her before leaning into her ear and whispering, "or should I say two."

"How did-" Rori started but was cut off by his whisper, "Of course I knew... A father always knows. Don't worry, I promised, it'll remain between us."

With that Cell went back down to Gohan leaving Rori confused. Did Cell think this kid was his? How? Oh... Piccolo's DNA... Still that didn't make him the father. She muttered to herself that he was just trying to find more was to piss her off like with 17's voice. He wanted Rori to think he was going to take this child and turn it against her. He had another thing coming.

Rori came down just in time to watch Cell crush 16's head, causing Gohan to go into a rage. That's when she noticed it, Gohan's scent. It'd been him all along. It was over now. Gohan went through all the Cell Juniors like they had been nothing and took back the Senzu beans, tossing them to Trunks. Gohan then focused in on Cell. As they fought, it seemed that no matter what Cell tried, he was no match for Gohan. Even after sending a full Kamehameha blast to the Earth, Gohan managed to send it back on Cell causing him to lose a few limbs.

That's when things went bad, as everyone yelled for Gohan to finish Cell. Gohan claimed that Cell should suffer more and left Cell the time to grow back his limbs. In Cell's anger he made the same mistake Trunks had earlier, bulking up in strength and size but losing his speed. It was still no match for Gohan who landed a hard punch to Cell's stomach causing him to throw up a lifeless looking Android 18. As the now Imperfect Cell had little options, he resorted to a self-destruct, his body increasing in size, blowing himself up like a balloon, getting ready to take the planet with him.

"In one minute I'll explode and take you all out with me!" Cell cried with laughter.

"I won't let you!" Gohan yelled, angry at both Cell and himself for letting it come to this.

"Don't come any closer. One hit and I'll blow up!" Cell laughed.

"It's over..." Piccolo concluded, looking hopeless.

Rori looked over to Piccolo, wanting to go over and calm him. And what was stopping her? They were all going to die soon anyway. As Piccolo watched the android becoming larger and larger, he suddenly felt a hand in his, looking to see who it was he found Rori staring up at him with a soft, but hopeless smile. She wanted to be with him when it happened. He met her smile for a brief second before turning back to the scene as Goku made his way toward Cell or possibly to comfort Gohan who was now cursing his own name for letting himself get too cocky as he pounded his fist to the ground.

"Bye everyone... this is the only thing I can think of to do..." Goku said before he disappeared and then reappeared infront of Cell.

"I'm proud of you Gohan... You did a good job." Goku said before he placed a hand on Cell and they both disappeared. Within moments, Goku's ki was gone as well. That's when Gohan started to cry, blaming himself for his fathers death.

Krillin was the first to make his way over to Gohan, trying to console him. Piccolo and Rori then exchanged a look before they both made there way over. Rori bent down beside Gohan, trying to put on her bravest face for him, "It's going to be alright, Gohan."

"We're all proud of you, kid..." Piccolo tried, but he knew that would not make him feel any better.

Gohan stood up, still drying his eyes. Krillin picked up Android 18 and smiled at Gohan, "Your dad looked happy, even knowing he was going to die, when he saw how powerful you'd become Gohan."

"Come on." Rori put her arm around Gohan, "let's get you to the Lookout and back home. You'll feel better once you've had some down time."

"What are you doing with that Android?" Vegeta asked eyeing Krillin, "If it's alive you should kill it already."

"What?" Krillin asked a bit taken back, "but she didn't do anything..."

Before anyone could comment on Krillin and Android 18, Cell's ki could suddenly be felt. It wasn't imperfect Cell's ki either, it was Perfect Cell. Out of a poof of dust Cell appeared and fired one of Frieza's deadly quick shots right through Trunks' heart.

"Did you miss me?" Cell chuckled as everyone stared at him in shock, "You all look surprised to see me. Don't worry I'll fill you in. I have a small lump in my head that helps me to regenerate. I honestly wasn't planning on it either, just lucky I guess, but the explosion didn't get the lump in the blast. So I was able to regenerate to my full power, I don't even need android 18 anymore. And as I was brought back, I realized I had gotten a little power boost thanks to my Saiyan heritage... And I was able to learn Goku's instant transmission as an added bonus. So in trying to defeat me, Goku only helped me to ascend perfection... I should write him a thank you note... or maybe send him a gift basket... I wonder if they make deliveries to other world..."

Gohan began to laugh as he watched Cell.

This only gave Cell an uneasy feeling, "Did you go crazy after watching your father die, boy?"

"I'm just glad I get the chance to kill you myself." Gohan retorted as he powered up, but didn't have the opportunity to get the first jump on Cell as Vegeta rushed past him,angered by the loss of his son, firing everything he had at Cell. It didn't last long however, Vegeta was no match for Cell before and certainly not now. Cell had Vegeta on the ropes, and threw him down into the ground breaking his arm, before getting ready to send down a deadly ki blast on the prince. Gohan saw this just in time and when the smoke dissipated, Gohan was panting as he'd gone in to save Vegeta.

"Gohan!" both Piccolo and Rori shouted. He looked tired, and now one of his arms was completely out of commission.

"Don't we have any Senzu beans?" Piccolo cried at Krillin who was rummaging through the sack of beans, but there wasn't enough time. Cell had already started a Kamehameha that was headed straight for Gohan. Just when it looked like Gohan was about to give up, he suddenly charged up a Kamehameha wave and sent it towards the one Cell had launched.

"It's no good, it's not enough!" Piccolo shouted before he jumped down behind Cell and fired a Masenko blast. Yamcha, Tien, and Krillin soon followed all sending waves of ki to the other side of Cell. He began knocking them down one by one but they kept getting up. Rori had followed suit, but was stopped as Vegeta yelled up at her, "You're crazy if you think that will help! You'll just get yourself killed!"

"We have to try! Stop being so proud!" she yelled back before she joined the others.

Cell laughed as he saw her line up with the others, "Oh what are you going to do Rori? Throw a rock at me? You can't use ki blasts!"

"Hmph" She laughed both hands at her side as she charged up to her phoenix form, her hand glowed a pink red before she sent out a two rays of ki, the weekend blast she'd learned from Radditz, "I told you, you know nothing about me!"

Her blast seemed to cause Cell to worry and Vegeta arched his brow from his position watching what he'd previously thought was the end. Could this actually work? If those weaklings could all cause him to waver a bit, perhaps his help would do something. He waited for his moment, when Cell thought he'd all but won, before he jumped overhead with his own ki blast, firing it down at Cell, giving Gohan just enough room to overpower Cell and disintegrate him for good.

"He... won..." Piccolo commented, barely believing his own eyes.

"He did it!" Yamcha shouted behind the rest running over to pick up Gohan, "Let's get you back to the Lookout so Dende can heal you."

Rori came over taking Gohan out of Yamcha's arms smiling at him, "If you don't mind I'd really like to escort my nephew there."

"Are you sure you're ok?" Yamcha questioned.

"I'll be fine. At the very least I can do this for him." She said ruffling Gohan's hair. With that Rori took off with Gohan in her arms, eyes half open laughing to himself. He, like the rest, could barely believe that it was finally over.

Yamcha took off following Rori closely, Tien behind him, carrying Trunks. Krillin scooped up 18 in his arms and followed the rest.

The only ones left were Piccolo and Vegeta. Piccolo looked back to the prince. It was obvious his ego had taken a beating along with his body. "Do you want a hand?"

"I don't need your help!" Vegeta muttered dusting himself off.

"Too bad... I needed your help." Piccolo retorted. After everything that had happened today, Piccolo realized that Vegeta had been right, as long as he was around Rori would come to him, despite what she could have with Yamcha. She'd told the reporter that she was with him and she'd come to him in the end. He remembered she'd said she wanted an explanation when all of this was over, but he knew she wouldn't accept any explanation he could give her, "You said one day I'd see... one day I'd come to you... well... You were right. Tomorrow when everyone's lives are back to normal. I'll be ready then." Piccolo explained before he took off towards the Lookout.

Vegeta stared at Piccolo's form as it disappeared. He didn't ask for this. He didn't ask for any of it. He never wanted a son to care about. He never wanted a human mate. He never wanted a friend, let alone a female Saiyan friend. He never wanted to be living on Earth or care about anyone on this miserable ball of dust. All he wanted to do was beat Kakarot and take his rightful place as Prince of the Saiyans. Yet, here he was... with a son that, he was pressed to admit it, but that he cared about. And he did care about that brat, enough to almost get himself killed and make a stupid enough move that he would get everyone else killed too. He was way too involved in his own love life with Bulma. Some how she'd worn him down. And now his friend's love life was staring him in the face too. He didn't want to be involved in any of this... but he knew now that he was in too deep. If he said nothing now... he'd probably only have a bigger mess to clean up when Piccolo was dead and Rori gave birth to Piccolo's child. If there had only been something close to him that he could punch, but now Cell and Gohan had destroyed even that. He was standing in a barren wasteland. So, Vegeta settled for blasting off toward the lookout in a rage, "Dammit!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hey... so... Cell Games are over. Next chapter Rori and Piccolo will finally sort out their problems, some insight on how Krillin and 18 got together, and 17 will be back. Hope you enjoyed it. Sorry for the wait and thanks for all the comments!


	25. Chapter 25

Once everyone had arrived at the Lookout, Dende went first to heal Gohan, then everyone else, all except Trunks who could not be healed and Android 18. Dende had not been around for all that had happened with the androids, so naturally he just assumed that 18 was part of the group and went over to heal her up last.

"No, not her!" Yamcha called out to stop Dende, "She's one of the androids that destroyed the future."

Dende stopped in his tracks, but Krillin spoke up to her defense, "She never harmed anyone in our time though... Shouldn't we give her a chance?"

"A chance to what? Kill us?" Yamcha countered.

Tien sighed, looking down at Trunks' lifeless body, thinking of what the teen's reaction might be if he found out they'd let Android 18 live. After all, she was the one responsible for destroying his family, his master, his world. He wasn't sure his conscience would let him agree with Krillin without Trunks' okay on the matter, "Yeah... I don't know Krillin..."

Gohan tried to stay out of it. He wasn't sure what to feel. He wanted to agree with Krillin, but even after being healed from Dende, he was still too distracted from the events that had just occurred to give his say. Though he doubted the android would pose any real threat now, he also knew that the second chances his father often gave out, while beneficial in the cases of Piccolo and Vegeta, could also come back to bite them.

Piccolo's eyes roamed over the lifeless android. He remembered Trunks had told them that they had not only killed everyone in the future, but had been particularly brutal in their killing of Gohan. Part of him remembered his own second chance he'd received from Goku, knowing that Goku, and probably Gohan if he was in a better state, would have probably said to heal her, but he just couldn't forgive what the androids had done to Gohan in the future timeline.

"You should let this idea go Krillin." Piccolo finally concluded.

Krillin's shoulders slumped in disappointment. He didn't know what he was expecting from this situation, but he wasn't expecting this. Something didn't feel right about it. 18 was different than her future self, she had to be. The image of that kiss she planted on his head popped up in his mind, but he quickly suppressed it again. They weren't going to allow her to come back, it was no use getting his hopes up.

"You should heal her, Dende." Rori chimed in nonchalantly before looking to Gohan, "Don't you think Dende should heal her, Gohan?"

Krillin's eyes widened, he hadn't been expecting Rori of all people to speak up on 18's behalf. No one had clued him in on her excursions with the androids. In fact, when he showed up on the scene, Rori was already knocked out and 17 had long been absorbed.

Piccolo just scoffed at this, of course she would think that 18 was alright. She'd been hanging around the androids, hadn't she? Piccolo thought about it to himself, but Yamcha was the one to blurt out his opinion,"Does this have to do with 17?"

"No, I just... I don't think she's actually evil... I mean... she was kind of a bitch to me... but I don't think she'd hurt anyone physically."

Yamcha looked shocked at her, "Rori you can't say that in front of Gohan!"

Rori blinked, "Yamcha, I think Gohan knows what evil is, he just killed Cell."

"He meant you shouldn't say bitch in front of Gohan." Piccolo chimed in with an audible sigh.

"Why not? I've heard Chichi call plenty of girls that when she thinks they're mean..." Rori looked from Piccolo to Yamcha.

"It's not a word you just use whenever... I'll explain it later..." Yamcha conceded, "but about 18... Are you sure it's worth the risk?"

Finally, Gohan had found his voice. Rori's little slip up had helped him come back down a bit, laughing to himself. He wouldn't let them know, but he had heard way worse words than bitch already, but he wouldn't ruin their image of him by letting them know now. He cleared his throat, "I think my dad would say we should give her a chance."

Piccolo stared down at Gohan and knew he was right, "If you're sure... I'm with you kid."

That was all Dende needed to know as he took his place back over 18, placing his hands over her, his brow furrowing in concentration as he began to heal her.

When 18 was fully healed her eyes shot open and she sat up abruptly as if she had been turned on by a switch, though she seemed to be out of it, confused as to her surrounds. It wasn't surprising after she had been devoured, then thrown up by Cell.

18's abrupt movements appeared to startle Yamcha and he called out, "Get back, Dende! She might try to kill you!"

"Calm down, she wouldn't do that for no reason," Rori rolled her eyes before reaching her hand out to 18 to help her up, "How are you feeling? It must have been awful in there..."

18 stood up on her own ignoring Rori's outstretched hand. She looked around with an air of confusion, but Krillin decided to fill her in, "This is Kami's Lookout... there's no need to worry, Gohan defeated Cell. He's gone. No one's going to try and absorb you again."

"... Gohan did what?" 18's eyes drifted over to the youngest of the warriors, her eyes widened. He was just a kid, how could he have done that when not even her or her brother could stand up to him.

Piccolo chimed in again, "You should thank Krillin you know. He saved you after Cell threw you up and he brought you back here."

"Well, it wasn't like I could leave her there..." Krillin stumbled over his words, his face turning a shade of red, but he tried to make light the situation.

"Oh!" Gohan exclaimed after coming to a conclusion, " Krillin must like 18!"

Everyone else seemed stunned, exclaiming it was weird and that she was an android. Rori rolled her eyes at them, knowing full well they were also humans deep down. She smiled thinking it was cute.

18 didn't give them a chance to dwell on it for very long, however, as she walked toward the edge, "What... were you expecting me to fall into your arms or something now? Get bent."

With that 18 hopped of the side of the Lookout, not wanting to stick around to hear them talking about her as if she wasn't even there. So she was an android. So what? That didn't give them the right to act like she was some inanimate object that didn't have a say in a conversation about ...well... her.

"... so bitch was pretty accurate..." Tien commented.

Rori shrugged her shoulders at Tien's comment, before she pat Krillin on the back, "Don't worry Krillin... It's just a lot for her to take in, I bet. We're all tired..."

After an awkward moment of silence, Mr. Popo brought the dragon balls out now that everyone had been healed up. Dende called out for the dragon to come forth. The sky turned black as the dragon arose from his slumber looming menacingly over the Lookout. The dragon's glowing red eyes scanned its surroundings, taking in its summoners faces, familiar faces, no need to waste time on lengthy explanations.

"What is your wish?" the dragon's voice rumbled over them from above.

Yamcha was the first one to speak, shouting up at the dragon, "please resurrect everyone killed by Cell!"

"It shall be done." The dragon answered and within seconds Trunks' eyes shot open and he sat up looking around in confusion.

"It worked!" Gohan shouted, happy to see that everything was going as planned.

"No... I don't sense Goku's energy..." Piccolo commented.

"I will give you one last wish before I depart." Shenlong stated once the first wish was fullfilled.

"Can't you bring Goku back?" Yamcha questioned hopefully.

"Goku has already been brought back. Ask for something else."

A silence resonated between the fighters.

"Maybe we could wish for the Namekian dragon balls..." Gohan offered.

 _Everyone, it's me Goku... Can you hear me?_  Goku's voice called out to them.

"Goku?" Krillin questioned.

 _Yeah, I'm with King Kai. Listen I was thinking... Bulma said once that I seem to attract evil... I mean, the androids were after me, Cell was after me, Freiza came to get revenge on me... and no offense Piccolo, but you did_  too. Piccolo raise a brow to this, but didn't respond. _What I'm saying is...I think I should stay in other world... the Earth would be more peaceful. King Kai thinks so too... And hey, I mean, it's not so bad, I get to keep my body for sacrificing myself... So I'll get to meet lots of strong warriors here and train as much as I want with them. And King Kai's forgiven me since Shenlong just resurrected him. Gohan... I'm sorry if this upsets you, but I hope you'll understand and look after your mother and please don't try to resurrect me. We'll see each other again, no worries._

As Goku said his goodbyes everyone was left taken aback, eyes wide, mouths dropped open. How could he be so calm about this?

"For a dead guy, he seems really happy..." Krillin remarked.

Shenlong cleared his throat, quickly gaining everyone's attention, "I've been waiting. What is your last wish."

"What should we do?" Tien asked, "if we're not quick, he'll disappear."

Rori cleared her throat, "Can you resurect my brother, Radditz?"

Shenlong seemed to consider this for a moment and while he did, the others worried about what she just wished.

"Radditz?" Yamcha questioned.

"Yeah... he's gone through quite the change in hell.." She sighed, "I kind of feel bad leaving him down there now that I know what he's going through..."

Before Yamcha could question her further the dragon responded, "I could... however his body has long since decomposed. If I were to bring him back now, he might prefer death... I suggest you chose something else."

Rori furrowed her brow, "I shouldn't have given him hope before I was sure..."

Yamcha sighed in relief, remembering hearing from Gohan how scary Radditz was.

Krillin, now feeling he owed Rori after she stood up for him earlier, sighed, "just wait a year, you'll be able to wish his body back, then you can wish him alive again."

Rori's face lit up, "Thanks, Krillin! ...But what should we wish for now then?"

Yamcha shrugged his shoulders, "There's this girl I've been seeing and I saw her eyeing a certain necklace... We could wish for that... before we get nothing, ya'know?"

Piccolo studied Yamcha after his suggestion and found he was a bit annoyed at this. Sure, it was awkward for him that Yamcha was with Rori, but did Yamcha really think Piccolo didn't know what girl he was talking about? Before he knew what he was doing, Piccolo let his anger get the best of him, "Humans are so strange... compensating for relationship problems with gifts."

Yamcha laughed at this a bit embarrassed. Rori's eyes shot over to Piccolo, analyzing him. Rori knew that she was no longer with Yamcha, but she had forgotten that Piccolo was non-the-wiser. In her mind, Piccolo knew nothing about her and Yamcha. It was unlike Piccolo to take a shot at someone like that for no reason, but she guessed that they were all a bit tired and on the edge after Cell.

Krillin stepped in now, "Shenlong... Can you change 17 and 18 back to normal humans?"

Shenlong sighed as he was unable to do this wish as well, "They are too strong... I cannot change something so complex about them."

"Well... could you take the explosives out of their bodies?" Krillin tried.

Shenlong seemed to think for a moment before answering with a brief, "It has been done. Farewell."

With that the dragon returned to his slumber, retreating back into nothingness along with the darkness that had engulfed the world. The 7 balls then turned to stone and shot out in all directions, scattering across the planet.

Trunks looked over to Krillin, having been a bit out if when they were making all the wishes, but now that he had completely come to his senses, he had to ask, "Krillin... why did you wish something like that for the androids?"

"I thought it was sad... having a bomb in your body..."

Yamcha arched his brow, "but you liked her... why would you help out 17 too?"

Krillin sighed, knowing he wasn't going to get anywhere with 18, "Well I mean, I like 18... but don't you think her and 17 make a better couple."

Piccolo grumbled under his breath, crossing his arms, sick of them mentioning 17 and sick of being reminded about what he couldn't have. There were moments he could forget about what he'd had with Rori, and the Namekian in him could be content with his solitude, but he had been living among the humans and they had started to rub off on him, perhaps more than he'd like to admit it. Gohan had made him soft. He had learned to be okay with that, though he did all he could to not let it show. So now that he'd come to his decision, he would let himself go for Rori, knowing that Rori would have a future with Yamcha or Trunks, now that stupid android had to come back into the picture. He'd forgotten completely about that android, but 17 was alive now thanks to their wish. What was keeping Rori from going back to him? He let his weakness get the best of him again, letting words slip past his lips that he hadn't planned on because just the thought of 17 or relationships in general pissed him off, "I really don't get you humans... can't you leave that disgusting romance shit out of it."

Rori clicked her tongue in irritation, partly due to Krillin's assumption, but mostly due to Piccolo's bluntness. What was with that Namekian today? He seemed bent on making sure she knew that they were not going to be together. Well, the message was received, but she wasn't going get into something with Piccolo now, not in front of Gohan. So unfortunately her malice fell upon correcting Krillin "Ew, Krillin! They're brother and sister! That's just weird..."

From afar, 18 was watching. When she had seen the dragon and the sky darken she had come back to see what was going on. 18 couldn't help but fell a twinge in her chest after what Krillin had done for her. Yet, the cueball managed to ruin it all with one sentence, by thinking her and 17 were a couple. She was about to call him on it, when she heard Rori chime in.

"What?" Krillin blinked at her, "Are you sure?"

"Either that or Rori was way too close to 'my boyfriend' " 18 came out from her hiding spot to clarify, then she eyed Rori down giving her best cold stare, "but she would know better than that."

Krillin just stared at 18 confused.

"Idiot... 17 and I are twins!" she yelled at him before crossing her arms defensively, "And don't think just because you removed those explosives that I'm going to thank you, baldy! I didn't ask for your help."

18 walked back over to the edge before looking back to Krillin, "See you later."

"Hey!" Yamcha elbowed Krillin with a grin, "She said she'd see you later, not goodbye... that's a good sign."

After 18 jumped off the edge of the Lookout, Rori watched her, then looked back to Krillin and worried her lower lip. They couldn't sense the androids energy and who knew when she'd show up again. Whether it was due to the futility she'd felt after Piccolo's weird statements today or the baby hormones she wasn't sure, but she needed to do something. Maybe she and Piccolo wouldn't work out, but Rori thought 18 and Krillin had a shot and Rori knew what she could do for them, which was a relief as she was lost with what to do in her own relationship. "I'm going to go after her... She knows me the best, I think I should help her out... I'll see you guys soon... Trunks, tell Bulma to call me and let me know before you leave. I want to make it to Capsule Corp to send you off."

Rori ran to the edge of the Lookout and jumped off, following the direction 18 had left in, hoping to catch up with her before she could no longer spot the android.

* * *

Rori was back in her apartment in West City, she should have felt relieved and happy that she was still alive. Yet all she could think about was how time had appeared to slow to a halt, and there was nothing she could do to get out of this awkward situation she'd put herself in. Two steely blue eyes stared across the table at her, portraying no emotion whatsoever. Android 18 had her chin resting in her palm, elbow leaning on the table for stability, while her other hand remained around the beer Rori had offered her. Rori glaced down at the tea she'd made herself and then back up at 18, reflecting on how she'd gotten herself into this mess. Right... stupid hormones...

_When Rori had finally caught up with 18, close enough that she could call out to her, pleading for the android to wait up, 18 simply ignored her and kept flying as if she'd heard nothing._ _Realizing that she was being ignored, Rori powered up and sped ahead of 18, stopping in front of her before turning back, facing the android head on, causing 18 to come to an abrupt halt._

_"Look I don't know where 17 is, if that's what your after." 18 responded before Rori could even get a word in._

_Rori furrowed her brow at the android's words and shook her head, "I wasn't... Look I just thought you might need somewhere to stay... I mean, Dr. Gero's lab has been burned up... not that I thought you'd want to stay there, but... 17 said you guys had been in that guy's lab for a while..."_

_18 stared at Rori silently for a long moment before she pushed some hair back from over her eyes and crossed her arms, "so what? You want to be friends and braid each others hair or something? Not interested."_

_18 made like she was going to leave again, but Rori held her hands up trying to stop her, "I don't want to braid your hair 18. Friends... maybe, but look. I know you're not really interested in me or any of my friends. I just thought you might want some help to get your life back. And before you get mad, I don't think you need my help, I know you can handle yourself, but I was in your position before too. 17 probably didn't tell you, but I didn't grow up on this planet, and Krillin and Yamcha and the others all helped me figure it out. I just wanted to... I dunno pay it forward. Try to make it easier for you. It'll be hard to get your life back, and you're strong enough to do it on your own, but wouldn't it be nicer to have some help. I could use a roommate for a bit anyway. It's weird living alone in such a big apartment."_

_18 studied her again. She looked almost as if she was going to accept, but couldn't quite let herself. Before 18 could refuse, Rori thought of something and grinned, "Hey! You know I did some modeling and I have lots of nice clothes you could borrow..."_

_18 almost laughed, but she turned it into a smirk, "All right, but if you have any of those stupid outfits we found on the road I'm out of there."_

So there she was, with 18 as a roommate now, and no idea what to talk about. Rori had faced Freiza and Cell with little fear, but for some reason in this moment 18 seemed more scary to her than the real villains.18 arched her brow as she looked down at Rori's tea. When they were on the road, they had had to stop way more often than if it had just been the androids because Rori would get hungry or tired every now and then. It made sense, she wasn't an android, but if she hadn't been there they would have gotten to Mt. Paozu much faster. Looking at her own glass of beer, 18 remembered one night when they had stopped at a hotel, Rori said she was tired and 17 thought it would be 'fun' for them to try it. Rori and 18 had stayed in one room together and 17 and 16 stayed in another, though 17 and Rori were out for most of the evening.

_The room was dark and after a long hot shower, 18 was finally in bed, ready to sleep. Though she had been opposed to staying in a hotel and wasting their time on the road even more, she was actually starting to think this was a good idea. Sure, she had infinite energy, but that didn't mean she didn't enjoy relaxing a bit, or some time away from her annoying brother, the Saiyan, and Android 16 who wouldn't stop obsessing about Goku or birds. Just as she started to drift off to sleep, she heard the door open followed by a loud crash, and then what sounded like Rori giggling to herself. 18 sighed, hoping she would just quickly go to sleep, but found that the Saiyan climbed into bed 18's bed instead of her own._

_18 immediately sat up turning on the bed side light and arched her brow at the intruder, "What exactly are you doing?"_

_Rori looked up at 18 confused, before she burst into laughter, clamping her hand over her mouth. 18 didn't budge an inch, and when Rori finally calmed herself, the only answer 18 got was, "32 beers, 2 more than your brother."_

_Before 18 could say anything Rori dropped her head into 18's lap and started to snore, falling asleep instantly._

_18 could hardly believe that Rori would dare getting that close to her, she hadn't been exactly friendly to Rori over the past few days. 18 pushed Rori aside on the bed and got up to go to the other double bed. 18 was about to just get in bed and go right back to sleep, when she looked up and saw Rori practically rolling off the bed in her sleep. She sighed, thinking to herself that taking care of a drunk adult must be similar to motherhood in some weird way. 18 crossed the room again, rolling Rori on her side to the middle of the bed and pulled the covers over her. She then walked into the bathroom taking one of the cups from the counter and filled it with water, bringing it out to place it on the bedside stand she had been almost sleeping next to just moments ago. As 18 turned out the light and crossed the room to the other bed again, she wondered to herself if she was being too nice to Rori, but just shrugged it off, knowing there was no way Rori would even remember to tell anyone about it._

"I thought you liked beer..." 18 commented, sitting up straight now crossing her legs and smirking to herself as she made a joke about a time that she knew her new roomie wouldn't remember to understand, "What's with the tea?"

Rori furrowed her brow, trying to think up some excuse as to why she wouldn't be drinking, "Not good for recovery... I'm not an android with unlimited stamina you know."

"You Saiyans recover quickly though, don't you?" 18 countered.

Just as Rori was trying to come up with another excuse the phone rang.  _Thank you Bulma_ , Rori thought to herself as she saw the Capsule Corp logo display across her phone screen. Rori motioned a quick sorry to 18 and then stood up answer her phone, "Hey Bulma."

Bulma let Rori know Trunks was planning on leaving after supper and that the rest of the gang was planning on going out after Trunks left to celebrate. She'd tried to get Trunks to stay for that, but he was eager to get back to his time now that he had the strength to defeat the androids. Rori had agreed to come and even asked if she could bring 18 once Trunks had left. Bulma seemed to be fine with it, but just before Rori was about to hang up, she heard Bulma call out for her to wait.

"Yeah?" Rori questioned.

"How are you doing...?" Bulma's voice echoed her concern, "Did you get a chance to tell Piccolo?"

"I'm fine... and not yet, there was too much going on. I'll tell him when things settle down." Rori lied. After what Piccolo had said today, she realized she didn't want to force him to be with her. He obviously had something against her companionship, but she knew that he would do the right thing if she told him she was pregnant, not for her, but for there child. He would force himself to be with her, he would act happy and so would she, but deep down, they would both be miserable. She thought the best way to skip that was just to get off of this planet. Unfortunately, one of the flaws she shared with Goku was her inability to be discrete and complete lack of recognition that she wasn't acting so until it was too late.

"Oh, hey, Bulma. Before you go, do you still have my space pod?" Rori questioned.

"Yeah, I've actually made a few bigger models from it." Bulma answered, but her interest was peaked, "Why would you need it now?"

Rori realized she'd made a mistake. Bulma was smart, it was only a matter of time before she connected the dots, but part of her just wanted some way to let go. This seemed like the perfect out, just pack her bags and go do... she wasn't even sure, but something away from here, "Oh, I just remembered you made the last one bigger with a training room and thought I could use one in a few months, if you know what a mean."

There was a long silence before Bulma answered, "Right... well, just come by when you want it."

"I'll be there tomorrow..." Rori reminded her, "You know... to send Trunks off."

"Yeah... hey I gotta go, but I'll see you then." Bulma answered and before Rori could say goodbye, Bulma had already hung up.

Rori stared at the phone for a while after she hung up, wondering if Bulma had figured her out.

"Is everything ok?" 18 asked when Rori didn't move.

Rori shook herself out of it and smiled, "yeah. And it looks like we found a reason for you to raid my closet. Celebration party tomorrow."

* * *

By the next day, 18 had already gone through most of Rori's closet. Rori was taller than 18, though their size wasn't too much different, so when Rori had told her to make herself at home, 18 promptly started trying on everything. Rori sat on her bed, cross legged, reading a magazine in her lap, while 18 tried on the next piece of clothing.

"I don't know, is this color ok on me?" 18 asked as she finished zipping up a white dress looking at herself in one of the mirrors on the closet door.

"It looks fine." Rori said without even looking up. She had been helpful at first, but after the 100th article of clothes, she started to get a bit bored.

"You're sure?" 18 asked after she pulled the magazine out from Rori's hand, causing the Saiyan to look up at her and cringe.

"Oh... yeah, maybe not that one." Rori confirmed realizing that it made 18 look like a ghost, "you should wear the black one tonight, you can try the rest on later, I mean you're not going anywhere are you?"

"I guess not..." 18 sighed, before looking at the clock on the wall, "I'm going to take shower. We've got a few hours and then I can figure out which black one."

18 made her way into the bathroom and Rori sighed with relief. Despite her modeling career, she hated trying on clothes, or maybe her career was why. She'd much rather be training. Rori decided to start getting ready too, she had already showered earlier so she reached in the closet and pulled out pair of white high rise shorts and black top. As she started to change into them, there was a knock at the living room window. Thinking it was just a bird, she ignored it, but the knock came again. Rori quickly threw on her top and hopped out of the room while zipping up and buttoning her shorts, "I'm coming!"

When Rori was sure she was fully clothed she pulled the curtain back and found Vegeta standing outside her window on the terasse. In all her time staying at that apartment she'd gotten many visitors, Bulma, Yamcha, Chichi, even Krillin once, but she had never expected Vegeta to pay her a visit. Though she supposed he would be the only one that would come to her window rather than her front door, other than maybe Piccolo. Rori had always been the one to seek Vegeta out since they were kids, so when he showed up at her doorstep, she wasn't exactly sure how to react. When he gave her a look of annoyance at her gawking, she quickly regained herself and opened the window.

"Vegeta..." she breathed and stepped back a bit, "Do you... want to come in?"

Vegeta seemed to be choosing his words carefully, but he didn't move to come in, "You're leaving?"

"What are you talking about?" Rori questioned.

Vegeta brushed past her in anger now, thinking she was playing games with him, "That's enough, Rori! Bulma told me you asked for your space pod..."

"Oh that..." Rori closed the window realizing that Vegeta was getting angry and didn't want to disturb her neighbors, "I dunno... I just thought I could use some time away from this planet for a bit..."

"Bulma told me you haven't told the Namekian you're pregnant either" he countinued.

"I know... I'm running away from my problems... I just.. Vegeta, Piccolo's a Namekian... He's fine without me... he can't do companionship and I can't raise a child beside him knowing that I'd be making him miserable. I thought that he loved me, but he doesn't... or he's not capable of it. Look... I'm sorry. I should have listened to you back then, when you came to bring me back. You were right. You and I don't love each other either, but we're both Saiyans... we at least wanted the same thing... and have the same needs... I'm sorry... I ruined our race's last chance... I-I-"

Rori couldn't make eye contact with Vegeta, but before she could look up to gauge his reaction, she felt his hand cover her mouth and jaw, as he pushed her into the wall holding her firmly against it by her face with one hand "Shut up!"

Rori's eyes widened and she struggled to break free from his grasp, but he wasn't letting up, "How dare you say that now! Now that I have a mate, now that I have a kid, now that you're about to have a kid. You made your bed, it's time to lie in it! What's happened to you?! Is it those damn hormones or have you just grown weak?! It's pathetic. Even if I didn't have a mate, I wouldn't lower myself to want you now, phoenix or not!"

He let her go, pushing her away as she started crying, "hmph... some phoenix you turned out to be... You give up so easily, you didn't even try to fight for your mate before you decided to run away. Radditz was always running from his battles too, so I suppose I shouldn't have expected anything different from you. Do you really think that stupid Namekian doesn't care about you? Just yesterday he cared so much about you that he came to me and practically begged me to kill him so that you would have a chance to find another mate!"

"He did what?" she asked between tears.

"Quit your sniffling..." Vegeta sighed, unable to keep his anger up for too long while she was blubbering, "I don't know why he left you, he's a Namekian as you said... I know nothing about them. What I do know about is Saiyans... and no self respecting Saiyan would give up their mate as easily as you have. When he asked me to kill him, I wasn't going to do it, but now that I see how easily you're giving up... I might as well kill him... Maybe he's right... you'd be better off."

Rori furrowed her brow, "You wouldn't... Whether I go to him or not he doesn't deserve that..."

"Wasn't it you who recently asked me to perform a similar task? You thought I was capable of killing you or Trunks, well then, killing a namekian who stole my intended mate should be an easy revenge. He is willing after all. I should put him out of his misery. You seemed to think I'd be perfect for that sort of thing, putting people out of their misery." Vegeta walked over to the table by her door writing down a location, "This is where I'll do it in one hour. If you think for a second that I'm capable of this... then you'd better come stop me. Otherwise, you'll be able to take that ship wherever you want with your fatherless kid. If you decide to come, take your plane or Piccolo will sense you coming and I'll just have to kill him at the Lookout."

With that Vegeta stormed back over to the window and left flying toward the Lookout.

Rori stared down at the note, when she read it she realized the location was pretty far. With how long it would take her to get there, Rori realized she had less than 5 minutes to make her decision. If this had been years ago, she wouldn't have questioned Vegeta's ability to kill her mate, but now she wasn't sure he would go through with it.

"What is wrong with me?!" Rori shook her head now angry at herself, was she actually thinking about not going, on just the hunch that Vegeta, someone who had no problem killing for most of his life, had grown soft enough that he wouldn't kill Piccolo, if it meant she could avoid Piccolo rejecting her or worse agreeing to be with her out of obligation. No, she was stronger than that. If Piccolo rejected her and her child, she could still leave and if he tried to be with her out of obligation, she wouldn't let him, she would make herself strong enough to raise their child with him and not be his mate. There was a small chance that Vegeta was serious, but she couldn't let herself risk Piccolo's life over her silly fears.

Rori ran back into her room rummaging desperately through her drawers looking for her plane capsule.  _I know I left it somewhere in here!_  As time ticked by, Rori grew desperate throwing her clothes on the floor, getting on her hands and knees searching under her bed.

"What are you doing?" 18 asked as she walked out of the bathroom, a turquoise wrapped tightly around her body and a lavander one covered her hair.

"Got it!" Rori exclaimed, pulling a box of capsules out from behind her pillow. She hopped to her feet and turned about to leave, but 18 blocked her way.

"Is everything... alright? I thought I heard Vegeta and-" 18 feigned concern, arching her brow, but grumbled to herself when Rori pushed past her.

"No time to explain, I'll be back soon!" Rori shouted as she left through the window in the living room like Vegeta had earlier. Rori flew herself outside of town, not wanting to waste anymore time like she had with trying to find her plane capsule. When she reached a good distance from the town, she clicked the capsule in her hand threw it. With a big poof, her plane appeared and she hurried inside. She entered the gps coordinates and started the plane towards the meeting place despite knowing she was terrible at working these contraptions. Once the plane was on its way she ventured a glance down at the clock, "Great... I'm already late..."

* * *

Piccolo had almost been shocked when Vegeta showed up to the Lookout, almost. Yes, he had asked Vegeta to come, but the look he'd received from the Saiyan just the day before, made him question whether or not he would actually die today. Well, now he had his answer.

"Well... Let's get this over with!" Vegeta stood before him, annoyed and arrogant as always, but there was something a bit different about him today. At the same time he appeared as impatient to commit his crime as he appeared to detest the thought of what he was about to do. It seemed like such a strange idea, that Vegeta would care either way, but he appeared to be waiting for a sign from Piccolo that he was still willing.

"Right..." Piccolo finally confirmed after his moment of suspicion.

With Piccolo's confirmation, Vegeta took off almost as quickly as he came. The Saiyan Prince's had been provoked all over again over how Rori had thought him capable of killing those close to him, how the Namekian had taken him up on his offer, and how Kakarrot was gone and he had no chance to prove that he was stronger, and worst of all how he could feel himself growing soft, wanting to look after his mate, his son, his friends... As much as he was angry at Rori for becoming weak, his anger at her was only a reflection of the anger he held for himself for doing the same. She had been right, he should have been capable of doing this. If he was the same man he used to be, he would have relished this moment, but now he found himself with a sick feeling in his stomach. Well, at least if he hurried he'd have to kill something. Though the thought worried him that it came to his mind that he had to kill, not that he got to kill... Regardless, maybe then he'd regain some sense of normalcy, like his old self again, not whatever weak version of himself he'd become on this planet.

Piccolo had left trying to keep up his appearances before he left to show no sign of what was about to happen to him to those on the Lookout. He'd told Mr. Popo and Dende he'd had to help Vegeta with something and that he'd be back tomorrow. Dende would know what had happened before then for sure, but the young guardian would be too far from their location to stop Vegeta.

"Where are we going?" Piccolo asked as he caught up to Vegeta, "Any deserted area will do, you know. Don't go to any trouble for me."

"We're almost there," was the only response Vegeta gave him.

A few minutes later, the two touched down in an area that looked much like the deserted lands Piccolo had trained Gohan in. The two were alone. Vegeta stood before him, wondering if he should ask if the Namekian had any last words. No, it wasn't that sort of death, he wasn't killing an enemy. Still, it looked like Rori had not decided to come and it seemed almost wrong to just do it quickly without saying something first. So, Vegeta sighed, giving into that weaker part of himself, "Take a minute, I want you to be sure about this."

Piccolo had already made peace with his decision, but knew he couldn't rush Vegeta. This wasn't killing an enemy, though neither of them would admit to that. So the Namekian took in the sights one last time, the sky of the late afternoon, the smell of the summer air. The sun still high in the sky was burning red behind the a slender stream of clouds, which seemed fitting for what was about to happen. He wondered for a moment if he'd end up back at King Kai's this time or if he'd go straight to hell. It was probably the latter. He wondered how Gohan would handle this, he knew the kid would be upset, but he figured, perhaps he'd be able to track down Goku and change his mind. The kid needed his real father, no matter how much Piccolo wished that was him, it wasn't.

Piccolo was about to signal he was ready, when his eyes that had been following a flock of birds, found their way to a little yellow plane flying haphazardly above them.

"You told her." Piccolo commented as he saw the frazzled blonde behind the wheel trying to land the plane in a dignified way, but a few feet above the ground, it just dropped like a ton of bricks.

"You already knew I did." Vegeta shrugged his shoulders with a smirk, glad that he had been wrong about her. She still had some strength left in her.

Piccolo chuckled at this, not denying it. Part of him had hoped Vegeta couldn't do it, but his relief shrunk away to something that almost resembled fear when he saw Rori climb out of the plane with an unsure glance in his direction, "You've gone soft."

Vegeta just grumbled before turning away, "You're one to talk. Weren't you supposed to be some stupid demon or something..."

As Rori struggled with herself, slowly making her way over to the two, Vegeta took off again not wanting to be around for this. He'd gotten them both there after all, that was more than enough good deeds for the day. As Rori watched Piccolo, her eyes had a hard time meeting his. It was just a few days ago that she was in his arms, that he wouldn't have let Cell have her, but once the Cell Games were over it was if an unspoken regime has been imposed over them. It was over, they wouldn't talk about it. Even if she wanted to ask, he'd distanced himself enough that she knew, he wouldn't entertain any questions she had, any desperate pleas she would have made to him. So as she finally crossed the distance between them, she found herself still stopping at arm distance.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked amazed at the timid tone she heard in her own voice. She wasn't sure which this she was even talking about, their broken relationship, his attitude, asking Vegeta to kill him.

Rori's eyes studied his body, his stance was harsh, arms crossed, eyes as cold as the day she'd left. Her breath caught in her throat as she realized he wasn't going to make this easy on her. He wouldn't answer her. He wouldn't tell her what she wanted to know. She would never know the real reason he left her, he was guarding this secret literally with his life. Piccolo was growing impatient with her and he started turned his back to her, making as if he was about to leave.

Rori took a deep breath, realizing if she didn't do something thing she would lose her nerve and so she just blurted it out, "I'm pregnant!"

Piccolo remained silent, pausing in his step, but he wouldn't face her. It wasn't his. Why was she telling him this? He knew it couldn't be, Bulma had confirmed it, "Yamcha must-"

"No, Piccolo..." Rori shook her head at the mention of Yamcha's name, "We're going to be parents... you and I... are going to be parents... I know you don't want us to be together... and I won't force you but-"

Before Rori could finish her thought, Piccolo turned back closing the gap between them without even realizing his body could move that quickly. His arms found their way to her, wrapping around her tightly, cutting off her sentence, along with her ability to breathe or think. Rori had gone over tons of different of reactions she'd thought he might have, but this wasn't even in the top hundred.

"Piccolo" Rori called from where her head rested on his shoulder, her arms were pinned to her sides he was holding her so tight "you're crushing me..."

Piccolo backed up, looking a bit ashamed of himself, but a smile tugged at his lips despite himself, "You're... sure it's mine?"

"100%" she confirmed, "You're... okay with this?"

"Rori... You wanted to know how I could love you and turn you away..." Piccolo started and sighed knowing this would anger her, but he couldn't hide it now, "When you said you wanted to have a kid and it started to take longer than we expected I went to see Bulma. She confirmed that you and I shouldn't be able to have children... I knew you wanted one... and at first I didn't believe I couldn't, but it started to make sense to me, my people are only male... The longer it took the more I thought she was right. I couldn't take motherhood away from you... When the only option was Vegeta... I didn't worry too much, but then I realized you could have a half human child like Goku had... maybe with Trunks you could have even-"

Rori stared at him dumbfounded as he explained, but when he mentioned Trunks she punched him in the shoulder, "What the hell? You just made that decision without me? Piccolo, I get that your a Namekian, but you're also my mate, I told you, Saiyans mate for life... is why you asked Vegeta to..."

"You're stubborn, how else was I supposed to get you to- Ow!" Piccolo cringed as she punched him in the arm again in the same spot.

"Don't ever put me through that again! You're not alone Piccolo, we're a team. We have been from the moment I arrived on this planet" Rori sighed before sliding her arms around his neck to pull him back to her, laying her head on his shoulder she lightly planted a string of kisses up his neck, "Please, don't forget that."

Piccolo leaned his chin on top of her head, letting a hand slide down to her stomach, still barely able to believe the baby growing inside her was his. His arms instinctively wrapped around her waist again, feeling the need to protect her now more than ever "I promise..."

* * *

Android 18 watched as Rori left the apartment. Well, she'd tried, not really, but she'd asked at least right? Now alone in the apartment she dried her hair and went through the closest again, realizing she was alone to make her dress selection now. Well, Rori had said take the black one and there would be plenty of other opportunities to try the other ones on. 18 pulled the short black dress over her head, before making her way to the living room and plopping herself down on the couch. Okay, so she was all ready with nowhere to go until Rori got back. Or she could go out on her own, though it had been a while since she'd done that. She'd always had 17 to tag along with her. 18 sighed and laid back on the couch. She would wait half an hour and not a second longer. Anymore would just be admitting she needed someone else in her life and she didn't. She wasn't that kind of girl... Android... whatever...

Every minute 18 found herself changing positions in her boredom and after 15 minutes she currently found her new position upside down, head hanging off the bottom of the couch, legs slung over the head rest.

"So where's the chick you killed to get this place?" 18 heard 17's voice and fell more than rolled onto the floor, before sitting up right blowing some air past her lips to get the hair out of her eyes. Once the hair was gone she found 17 leaning on the door frame of the open balcony door. He chuckled as she took a normal seated position on the couch. When she didn't answer he took her silence as an invitation and entered the apartment looking around. 18 had almost forgotten, since 17 and 18 were meant to work together, but didn't have energy sensing capabilities like 16, the good doctor had given them trackers on their earrings to find each other.

"I was invited here if you must know." 18 sighed now wishing to be back to her bored self. Yes, she would admit it to herself now, she had been lonely, but a part of her wanted to live her own life, rather than as the brother and sister collectible set they had been until now.

"Who would invite  _you_  to their place?" he laughed as he started tossing a fragile glass statue he'd found up and down in his hand, "What did you play that innocent girl crap on some poor guy?"

"Oh, nothing like that. No one special invited me here..." 18 stated nonchalantly waiting for him to drop the piece of glass, and sure enough, he did. That was when she struck, "Just your girlfriend."

"Rori?" 17 asked, to which he received a nod along with a wicked smirk from his sister. His face turned white and he looked down at the broken glass, "Shit... you think she cared about that?"

"I wouldn't worry about it, I don't think she's into you anymore, anyway." 18 commented, finally finding some entertainment out of the situation. She was bored and 17 messed with her a lot, so now it was her turn.

"Quit trying to mess with me." 17 said walking over to the couch, dropping down next to her, his arms spread wide over the back of the couch, legs stretched out and crossed leisurely before him, "How could she not be into all of this?"

18 made a gagging noise as she grabbed a magazine on the end table and pulled her feet up on the couch, sitting Indian style, with the magazine draped over her legs. As she leafed through it, she couldn't help but antagonize him, "Well, she left pretty quickly after Vegeta came over earlier, and wouldn't tell me where they were going. She kept blushing like that time I caught you two making out in the car when I came back from shopping."

"Please!" He laughed taking the magazine from her, "Nice try, but she hates that guy."

18 stared him directly in the eye, "Okay... if you're sure."

"I am." he quickly lied. She'd gotten him. Gotten into his head. What was Rori doing with Vegeta?

18 stood up and started for Rori's room, "Do whatever you want, I'm gonna go find some shoes, before it's time to go."

17 threw the magazine down and followed her into Rori's room. As she rummaged through the closet for shoes, he nosily snooped through Rori's room. Not finding much before he picked up the one lone stuffed animal he'd found on her night stand, a monkey. 17 sat on ther bed tossing the monkey now, acting as if he wasn't at all worried, "where are you going anyway?"

"Rori and I are going to a club later with her friends... to celebrate... that thing spitting us back out and dying..." 18 said as she finally found a pair of heels she liked. 18 meandered over shoving him aside to make room as she sat next to him on the bed, leaning over to buckle the straps around her ankles.

"Whoa whoa whoa, so you two are hanging out now?" 17 arched his brow, before shoving her back a bit, "Is this really her place? You guys don't even like each other."

"She's letting me have her clothes and they're not a flamenco dress or a cowgirl outfit." 18 responded sharply.

"I thought you looked mighty nice in that there cowboy dress." 17 mocked in his best western accent. It still wasn't good.

18 rolled her eyes and took the closest pillow, using it to try and smother him before he punched her off of him causing her fly up in the air, but she quickly regained herself landing perfectly on her borrowed heels. She looked like she was about to retaliate, when 17 stood up and held his hand up calling for a truce, remembering that he'd already broken one of her things, "I think I'll tag along with you two."

"Your not invited." 18 countered, already fed up with his shenanigans. Surprisingly, when 17 wasn't around, she could tolerate Rori, so she didn't want him interfering and making the Saiyan insufferable again.  _Those two are idiots together..._

"Come on, help a guy out." 17 begged.

18 arched her brow, knowing it wasn't like him to do that unless he really wanted something, "You really like her?"

17 didn't answer, but 18 knew that his silence was his answer.

"Fine..." She sighed.

* * *

Piccolo had his head seated comfortably on Rori's chest as she napped in the bedroom back at the Lookout. When they'd arrived she'd mentioned the pregnancy was already taking a lot out of her and he had insisted she sleep even for a few minutes. Though she'd argued, she lasted for all of two minutes before she fell asleep. And now he just watched the rises and falls, he watched as his fingers roamed her body, but often came back to her stomach. It was still hard to believe that the baby was his. Though Kami reminded Piccolo that he was not the average Namekian, he was the son of King Piccolo who had been known to create all kinds of creatures from his own being.

Not to mention he was one of those creatures himself, and the only one that looked like a carbon copy of his father, King Piccolo. Though his appearance was closer to King Piccolo's than the likes of Tambourine and the rest, he was not the carbon copy of his father, Kami had even confirmed this to him. King Piccolo would have never been able to take Rori as a mate, like he had. He would have been missing some key tools for that feat. There were many difference between the two, though they were not as visible as they had been with Piccolo's siblings. King Piccolo had been more like Piccolo Junior's creator than his father. And his creator had had bigger plans for Piccolo Junior than his other siblings: kill Goku, take over the world, and create and fill the world with a new evil race just to mention a few on the list. King Piccolo knew that to create that race by continuing to make copies of himself would only weaken him, which was why his father had made sure that Piccolo Junior had what was necessary to continue on without giving up some of his energy, weakening himself. What his father hadn't counted on was that this would give Piccolo Junior another, different kind of weakness. And, however rarely, Piccolo Junior would from time to time crave a little companionship. And from time to time he would give in to that weakness, like he had when he'd agreed to mate with a Saiyan.

Piccolo watched his mate stir from her slumber, her groggy gaze falling over him, as she leaned ever so slowly up to a seated position. Though she was careful not to move Piccolo from where he rested on her chest, he slid his head from its resting place of his own volition, moving beside her, only to pull her into his lap, where she nuzzled against him, her arms finding their home around his neck. Her lashes fluttered against his chest as she blinked her eyes open several times, remaining somewhere between the waking world and her dreams. She couldn't even remember what she had been dreaming about, but it seemed like a good dream for the first time in quite a while. It made her feel at ease, or perhaps it was the arms she was so tightly wrapped in that caused her to feel safe. That was another thing she hadn't felt in quite some time.

Though Rori could barely remember where she was, she didn't even need to open her eyes to know who she was with. One deep inhale and she knew that deep musky scent. It was different from the Saiyan scent, but that didn't mean it didn't draw her in any less. He was her mate after all. Suddenly, the recent events came rushing back to her when she realized where she was. Rori craned her head back resting her chin on Piccolo's chest to look up and find his dark eyes watching her. She knew that look, even if it had been a while. Yet something was different about it this time, he had never been so still before, cautious of even the slight movement he made when sliding his hand down the small of her back. It was as if even a kiss from him might destroy her.

"What are you waiting for?" she finally questioned. Rori knew what he wanted and he knew she wouldn't say no, yet he hesitated.

Piccolo furrowed his hairless brow line, unsure of how to even voice his concerns. After everything that happened, he knew she would still be willing, he'd known that since their escapade in the time chamber and even at the Lookout, but he wasn't sure they could now.

"Is it okay to... I mean for the..." As he spoke, Piccolo felt ridiculous as she appeared confused by every word that came out of his mouth. He had been right when he thought of Krillin and Yamcha earlier, love definitely made men stupid and he realized now that included him.

When she finally realized what he meant, Rori gave him a rough push back onto the bed before crawling on top of him, straddling him with a grin, "It was okay just last week, wasn't it? And honestly, we have a lot of time to make up. I'm not waiting any longer."

"Is that so?" he asked leaning up on his forearms, his face coming close to hers, but he stopped just before their lips and noses touched, "Do I need to give you another lesson in patience?"

Rori laughed before she draped herself over him, her hair flowing over them like a curtain as she trailed her lips down his chest, sliding his gi down along with as she did, "You can try, but I'm sure by now you know that I'm way too stubborn to learn my lesson."

Piccolo let out a contented sigh as he felt her soft lips caress their way down his body. He was almost happy she didn't want that now. They had been apart too long and it would have been just as much torture for him as it would have been for her to make her wait, as much as he liked watching her beg for it. No, they had plenty of time for that. Though he was not going to let her be the only one to have her fun, he thought to himself as she threw his gi to the floor somewhere behind her. His fingers ran through her long locks of hair until they found their way to the base of her neck, where he grabbed a fist full of her hair, gently pulling her head back before he flipped her over so she was trapped beneath him.

Rori watched Piccolo's face turn smug after he tricked her, knowing she liked it when he pulled her hair, he'd used it to gain the upper hand. And he was definitely going to use it, she realized as his hands ran down her side to rip off her shirt then shorts respectively. So much for patience, she mused, before she let out a surprised gasp as she felt his nails dig slightly into her hips to pull her legs up over his shoulders. Before she could comprehend what he was doing, she found herself in a slight back bend, her arms clutching the sheets of the bed for stability, trying to keep herself up. Her lips parted to ask him what he was doing, but before she could she felt his lips meet her core as his tongue found just the right spot to make her forget how to even speak. As he worked her over, Piccolo's left arm slid below the arch of her back, holding her in place while his other hand paved a path down the plain of her stomach finding its destination where he palmed at her breast before grazing his clawed finger tips over her nipple. Before long she could feel herself being pushed to the edge and was vaguely aware of hearing her own desperate voice cry out a slew of curse words and possibly his name.

When Piccolo heard her cry out his name he knew she was close. He took a brief moment and gazed down at her body glistening with sweat, her face contorted, her hands tearing at the sheets and decided he wouldn't need patience to make her beg. They'd already been waiting so long she was a tightly wound string ready to be plucked at any second. So he pulled back, laying her down on her back as he met her dazed stare with a knowing smirk. He felt her rock her hips against him, but he just pinned her legs down with his own, his voice becoming deeper and dangerous almost, "Tell me you want it... I want to hear it."

Piccolo expected what usually came after a request like that, that her face would turn red, that she would say it, but the longer she would wait the more eager she would be in the end. Yet this time she just watched him cautiously.

"No." Rori answered as she leaned up, elbows bracing her until she was high enough to reach one arm out wrapping it around his neck to pull herself to him despite his keeping her legs from their freedom. He seemed taken back by this, but she held his gaze none the less. She'd remembered her talk with Vegeta earlier and remembered she was a Saiyan and while she may submit to her mate on any other occasion, tonight she needed to gain back some of her pride, "Not tonight. For so long you've kept me at a distance and I thought you didn't even want me. You may want to hear me say it... but I need to you say it. I need to know you want me and not just because we're going to have a kid together."

Piccolo met her gaze finding her eyes pleading with and intensity for what he hadn't been able to realize she'd needed. He realized then how she'd become unsure what she meant to him, but he wasn't even sure how to begin to tell her how he felt about her. If he could rip his heart out of his chest and give it to her, that might have been simpler for him. He'd never had a way with words.

"I.. Rori... " he faltered under her intense hopeful stare, and it made it all the worse when he watched her face start to turn away in disappointment.

 _Just tell her you need her_ , Kami voice reverberated through his head,  _that's all she wants to know._

 _Tell her that she means something to you_ , Nail confirmed.

He felt her trying to move out from beneath him now and he knew if he didn't say something she wouldn't leave, but they wouldn't be the same. They would never get back to the way things were if he couldn't find a way to tell her that she meant something to him. Piccolo reached his hand out, turning her chin back to him, "You know I'm not good at this, but if you need to hear this... then... I need you... but what I didn't realize I needed more than that was to know you're safe and happy... I'm sorry if I let you think that meant that I didn't need or want you. I wanted you to have what I couldn't give you, what you deserved."

Rori watched him as he spoke, she knew it would be hard for him, but she didn't need him to tell her this constantly, just this once. Before this had just been a given, but just for one moment she felt insecure and she needed him to reassure her that her insecurity was not her reality. It wasn't even the word she'd asked him for that had been able to reassure her, but his intense gaze and how just after he'd held her down in a lovingly way that she'd never even thought him capable of.

Piccolo pulled her chin in, crushing her with a kiss. He could tell she'd been hesitant despite his words, but he'd just have to prove it to her. She was right, he could make her beg any day, but today she needed to feel loved by him because she'd forgotten what it felt like or she'd maybe never even felt it. He let himself off of her pulling her now into his lap as his hand ran to the crook of her neck, pulling her in for a slow languid kiss. As they kissed, Rori sat up straddling him, her hands running up and down the span of his muscled chest. He pulled her body flush against his, never breaking their kiss, until he felt her slowly sink down onto him. Piccolo groaned and leaned his forehead against hers, watching her cheeks flush and eyes darken as she moved slowly along his length. He began to meet her as she sheathed herself to the hilt on him, her nails digging into the muscles of his shoulders. They started out with a slow place, making sure that they would feel completely the extent of every movement, but soon that became unbearable for both parties.

Rori managed to whimper Piccolo's name and that caused him to lose himself, and while losing himself was not something he indulged in often, he knew that was what she needed now. Piccolo laid her back and pinned her to the bed as his pace grew quicker. He was close but he managed to slow his pace again briefly so he could press open mouthed kisses to her exposed skin. With his slow pace he could feel her muscles tightening around him, her heels digging into his back trying to pull him closer. Piccolo took this cue to quicken his pace again, making sure to put pressure on just the right spot. She had been so close sooner that she came quicker than expected. She tightened and even after she had come over the edge her core was so taut around him causing him to spasm and pulse inside her as he let himself go.

Piccolo leaned his forehead down against Rori's panting along with her. As the both came down from their high, Piccolo slid out of her and laid back on the bed next to her, staring up at the ceiling, pulling her limp body along with him he planted a quick kiss to her forehead. They stayed there for a few minutes, taking everything in, or so it seemed.

"What time is it?" she questioned with a yawn.

Piccolo looked around the room, finding hour glasses but no actual way of him knowing the time, so he guessed, "Maybe 6..."

"What?!" Rori's eyes shot open and she hopped up out of the bed, trying to brush some stray hairs down with her finger tips, "Dammit!"

"What's wrong?" Piccolo asked confused at her sudden outburst.

"Trunks will be leaving any minute." she stated before grabbing his arm, "Come on, get up!"

"Is it that big of a deal?" Piccolo questioned. He knew Trunks would be leaving and yes, they'd all said they would be there, but it was more important perhaps for Bulma, Vegeta, and Gohan. Why was she acting so rushed, if they missed him, they missed him.

Piccolo watched curiously, Rori began fumbling with her ripped clothes. He just smirked at this before he used his clothes beam to repair them. Once she was all dressed she searched the dresser finding where she 'd led to her phone earlier, picking I think up to make a call. After a several rings, Piccolo thought he heard Android 18's voice on the other end, "Yeah? What do you want?"

"18?" Rori asked confirming Piccolo's suspicions, but when she got no answer she just continued, "Sorry, I had to leave you like that. It was an emergency. I'll explain it to you later. Anyway, the place we're going to, you'll find it easy, it's right down the street from my place."

Rori waited for any sort of confirmation, but then heard 18's muffled voice, though she wasn't speaking to Rori, "I told you to stay away from there and be quiet!"

"18... 18..?" Rori questioned.

"Huh.. Yeah?" the android finally responded.

"Are the squirrels knocking stuff over again? Just put out a little food for them on the terrasse and they'll go away." Rori laughed a bit thinking about the squirrels who often came over looking for food were now giving 18 a hard time.

"What?" 18 had no idea what Rori was talking about, but then realized she must have heard 17 making noise, "Oh... yeah I'll do that. Listen, give me the name of the place and I'll meet you there."

Rori finished giving 18 all the information before hanging up to find Piccolo watching her with a smirk. He didn't know what she was doing, but he did know she was up to something. Rori had always thought she was good at hiding her motives, but now even after years apart he could see right through her, "This isn't about seeing Trunks off..."

Rori sighed, "Well.. I've been working on something... you know how Krillin likes 18, well yesterday I convinced her to stay at my place until she found something. And today after we see Trunks off everyone was supposed to go out to a bar... and I was thinking... Krillin will be there... I'd bring 18 and who knows..."

Piccolo stared at her, "When did you become so human? You've been around Bulma too long."

"Well who's fault is that?" Rori asked arching a brow.

Piccolo didn't answer and just grumbled something under his breath.

* * *

Sending Trunks off had been quite the event, mostly for Bulma, who held back her tears even after he was long gone. It was true that she still had her little baby with her, but that didn't make it any easier to say goodbye to the future version of her son. At least it had been nice knowing that Trunks would turn out to be a good guy and less... brazen than his father. She'd known she'd get emotional when the time would come, which was why she had proposed a little party afterwards. Everything would be fine. Her parents would watch Trunks, baby Trunks of course, and she would spend some time dancing off all the fear and sadness she felt with her friends.

It seemed frivolous to throw a party now, but Bulma reminded herself that she wasn't the only one who'd needed a little distraction. While everyone should have been relieved that the androids hadn't devastated their world and that Cell had finally been beaten, there was a certain emotional low that came over everyone as they back to their normal lives. Though it wasn't normal. Goku was gone. Trunks was gone. And their life for the past few years had revolved around this moment that had just come to an end. It was hard to remember what normal even meant. Bulma had seen this depression sink in slowly on all her friends starting from the moment the fight with Cell was over. First with Krillin when he'd showed up at master Roshi's, he wasn't his normal happy self. And after she questioned him, he'd explained to her that Goku wasn't coming back. Chichi was inconsolable for some time. Not to mention that Gohan, despite having saved the world, appeared to feel responsible for losing his father. Bulma thought that this state of depression would have ended at Kame house, but then she'd arrived home and found Vegeta declaring he would never fight again. And so she'd decided, that was it, they all needed a little distraction before going back to their normal lives. It had only cemented the idea in her head when she'd called Rori and found her asking for her space pod, in what she could only assume would be to run away from her problems.

It was cute really, Vegeta had initially insisted that he wasn't going to help them out nor, go to their little get together. Yet, the next day she couldn't find him anywhere and when he'd returned and she'd asked where he'd been, his response was simply "out." Bulma was smarter than that, she'd had an idea of where he'd gone. Later, she'd confirmed her suspicions when Piccolo and Rori showed up together just a few minutes before Trunks left. The two appeared to be back to their old selves as well. Bulma had risked casting a knowing smile over to Vegeta, and even though he quickly averted his gaze, feigning annoyance, she knew that it was just a front for the others. She knew things would work out for them here and now, even if they hadn't in Trunks' timeline. And despite having told her that he wouldn't come out with them here he was following them to the bar, in clothes other than his armor, arms defiantly crossed, but he was there.

After Trunks had left, everyone had made their way over to the bar, though there had been some obstacles to Bulma's party. Chichi had complained about bringing Gohan to a bar, him being too young. Everyone had insisted that it would be fine though, he wasn't going to be drinking anything, but soda. Once they convinced Chichi that it was all right, they then had to convince the bouncer to let Piccolo in because he wasn't appropriately dressed. Piccolo gave the bouncer a harsh look before taking off his turban and cloak, letting them drop before the man with a thud, "Will this do?"

The bouncer gulped and nodded vigorously, pulling back the chain to let every one in, hoping he wouldn't have any trouble. Rori snickered at Piccolo, as they entered the club last, "Why didn't you just take up Bulma on her offer to let you borrow some clothes."

Piccolo's face turned red, remembering the last time he'd borrowed clothes from Chichi, and how he'd vowed never again. The clothes he'd borrowed looked ridiculous and made him less menacing, enough so that his driving instructor felt the safe enough with him to give him her number. He would never do that again, "I got in, didn't I?"

"True..." Rori hummed while she led him to the bar where everyone else was waiting to get drinks.

"What..." Piccolo grimaced at her, "You  _want_  me to wear those human clothes?"

"You did look more normal in those clothes" Chichi answered for Rori, walking over with Gohan at her side. She sighed noticing the closeness between Rori and Piccolo again. Oh how she had hoped Rori and Yamcha would have lasted, but it was true Rori was Goku's sister and normal wasn't something that ran in the family, "if you're going to be my brother-in-law now for good, you should try to dress normally."

"I looked ridiculous..." Piccolo grumbled at even the thought of it.

"I thought you looked cool in the hat" Gohan chimed in.

"I missed Piccolo wearing normal clothes?" Krillin asked laughing, then immediately shut up when he caught Piccolo glaring at him.

Out of all things, Gohan's comment made Piccolo reconsider it more than the others, but luckily Master Roshi came over interrupting their conversation to bring some beers over to Rori and Chichi.

Rori looked at the beer and sighed, "Um actually... I have an announcement..."

She took the beer and handed it to Piccolo. While he didn't really eat or drink, she'd seen him do it on special occasions and this was definitely a special occasion. It was loud in the bar, but within a few minutes she felt all her friends eyes on her and she choked, her eyes casting to the side wondering how she should say it. Luckily, Yamcha interrupted yelling over the rest of the group, "Just tell them you and Piccolo are having a kid, already!"

Rori looked up and found Yamcha grinning, and felt herself flush but do the same, happy that he broke the ice for her.

"Really?!" Krillin who was standing next to her smiled. He laughed before he swallowed his fear and shook Piccolo's hand, to his surprise Piccolo reciprocated, "Hey, congratulations!"

Rori's face turned red as her friends were congratulating her and Piccolo, when she noticed Chichi was watching her carefully, an array of emotions going over her face, and before she knew it her sister-in-law jumped at her pulling Rori into a tight hug, "Oh, I'm so happy! I thought I was going to be all alone in this, but this is going to be great, we'll be able to take classes together and pick out clothes and supplies!"

Rori pulled back from Chichi with a confused look, "What do you mean?"

"I'm pregnant too!" Chichi seemed so excited that they were going to be able to go through this together that she led Rori away from the group to a table and began briefly explaining everything in detail that Rori might need to know. After a while, Rori finally got a chance to break free from Chichi when Master Roshi came over and headed over to where Yamcha and Piccolo had been talking.

"You two ok?" Rori arched an brow, having found it weird that while she'd been trapped by Chichi for so long, Yamcha and Piccolo had seemed to be getting along. ... Not that she had been curiously watching them and not listening to Chichi or anything.

"Actually... yes" Yamcha decided with a laugh.

The three had a chance to talk for maybe 10 minutes before the dj started loud music started to pour in throughout the room. It was no longer an early drinking hour and everyone in the bar had started drinking and dancing more. Chichi and Gohan had decided to leave and with Piccolo distracted saying good-bye to Gohan, Rori was left with Yamcha. They had tried to find some subject of conversation, but Rori realized that now that she was with Piccolo again things were a little awkward between the two, so she asked him to dance instead. He agreed, following to the dance floor, keeping a friendly distance as they made some rather cheesy dance moves together to the music joining along with Bulma and Krillin.

When a new song came on Rori left the dance floor saying she'd be back soon. She walked around the bar to see if Piccolo was back yet, and when she hadn't seen him she made her way back to the dance floor, pushing her way through the crowd of people. Each person she passed was like a blur, the sea of people parting as she went through, until one man in a black sport coat stood firmly in front of her. Rori looked up to the man ready to ask him if she could sneak by, when found herself face to face with familiar blue eyes.

"Hey..." 17 smirked, taking her hand in his, pulling her into him.

Before Rori could even react herself, stunned from the surprise, Yamcha had caught sight of this, quickly making his way over he hovered over the two, pushing them apart, which he realized immediately might have been a mistake after receiving an angered look from the android.

"It's fine Yamcha... I'll handle him." Rori remarked knowing that technically she'd never really broken things off with the android. When he'd been devoured they were together after all, and a lot had happened since then. She needed to explain this to 17 herself.

Before 17 led Rori deeper into the crowd, he gave Yamcha a smug look as if to tell him that the bandit wouldn't stand a chance anyway. Once 17 had gotten her a good distance away from Yamcha, Rori noticed that he looked different. He had a complete change of clothes, his hair slicked back and his signature bandanna was nowhere to be found. She realized this must be one of his games, though she wasn't going to be playing this time.

"Listen..." Rori tried her best to speak up as they danced, 17 kept pulling her closer, while she kept trying to keep a distance, "... Piccolo and I are back together..."

17 just continued dancing with her, acting as if nothing had changed, making her wonder if he could even hear her.

"17?" she questioned.

"I heard you" he smirked and turned her to the music before pulling her back, "I just don't believe it will last..."

Rori furrowed her brow and stopped dancing, "What do you mean?"

17 stopped as well and ran his fingers through her hair, "I mean... I know you.. that guy is so stoic Rori... would he even dance with you?"

Rori was about to answer but before she could, 17 did for her, "I doubt it. He's boring. It's not in his nature is it, but it is in yours."

"You have no idea-" Rori started to defend Piccolo when 17 silenced her, invading her space to brush a kiss on her lips, his tongue gliding over hers, as his hand slid around her waist, pulling her against him. When he pulled back, she was shocked into silence though she should have known better, it wasn't the first time he'd made her mad and then tried to calm her in his own way. He pulled back, his forehead pressed against hers as he searched her expression for a hint that she still had feelings for him, but he decided the fact that she hadn't pushed him away yet was good enough.

"I don't hold it against you. I haven't been around after all, but I think you've forgotten the fun we had together. What it was like to play by our own rules..." He smirked, his arm tightening around her to make sure she wouldn't fall as be began to hover them off the ground.

It wasn't until she was a couple of feet off the ground that Rori realized what he was doing, "17 you can't do that here."

"I can do whatever I want and so can you" He stated as one of his hands cupped her cheek, sliding it down to the back of her neck, fingers entangled in her hair, pulling her in for another kiss, but before he could make contact, 17 was yanked down by his ankle.

Piccolo now made his way between the two looking furious, which only appeared to amuse 17.

"Eager to finish our fight I see?" 17 taunted.

"It'd be my pleasure to kick that smug look off your stupid face." Piccolo responded.

Rori grumbled now annoyed with both of them, but mostly 17. She pulled Piccolo back by his arm so he was no longer between them, "That's enough. And 17... I told you we're over. Bulma was trying to put together something to cheer us up and you're ruining it. Just leave."

"Oh, we're not over-" 17 started, but Rori wouldn't let him finish. She'd already let this get way too out of hand.

"Yes, we are, 17. I'm pregnant. I don't have time for your games anymore." Rori yelled at him. She didn't want to have to use that as an excuse. She'd tried to break up with him normally, but since he wasn't taking no for an answer, she figured that should do the trick. 17 didn't actually love her, he just wanted to get into her pants. She knew that. She knew she was just a challenge and her refusing him only made him want her more, but there was no way he'd want to get involved with a kid on the way. That was serious. Yet when now he was just laughing to himself, hand over his face with an unreadable expression that almost scared her.

"What's so funny?" Piccolo growled.

"So that's what this is all about?" 17 laughed and shook his head, "Rori... you know that baby is mine."

"What are you talking about." Rori shook her head, "Stop trying to mess with us. 17 you and I never even... did anything together. There would be no way it's yours. Piccolo is the father."

"No, he's not" 17 stated with a dangerous tone in his voice, his face now serious, taking a step closer to them, "And yes we did. Don't you remember? That night we stayed at a hotel... we had some drinks... and then..."

"We had some drinks... and then I woke up in bed next to 18." Rori answered, but paused as she tried to recall what had happened between those two things. And when she did, her eyes widened and her face turned bright red, "Oh...shit ...We did do something..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So, sorry that took so long. I tried to do an extra long chapter to make up for the time it's taken to get these out. Things have been a bit busy, and while I can say I could get them out sooner, I'd prefer taking time to do them properly rather than putting out something I rushed on. Thanks for your understanding and for all of you who have stayed with it thus far! I'm so appreciative of all your kind comments. I'd received one question on Piccolo being a Namekian and how this could work with them being asexual, so I tried to answer that in this chapter, though it had been planned for another one down the line, it needed to be addressed. I think it will make more sense when I finish the what if chapter later on King Piccolo Saga. Anyway, next will put an end to this and with the start of Krillin and 18's relationship. While this story will come to an end, I've been planning another starting with Dragon Ball Super along with some what-if chapters. :) So thanks again!


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